Action to stop youths gathering

Almost £4,000 is to be spent on sprucing up a Great Barr grot spot which has become a meeting place for youths.

A petition from residents on the Hobhouse Close Estate had been sent in to Sandwell Council calling for action over the green open space.

Neighbours want the area landscaped with perimeter fencing, bollards and shrubs to deter youths who had been gathering, playing football and causing a nuisance.

Leisure bosses at the council have now backed an application to spend £3,700 on landscaping from the authority's Grot Spot Fund, a council and Government pot set aside for environmental improvements.

The work would include re-grading of grass, signage, extended fencing and providing two bollards.

Play equipment has previously been removed from the spot, after it became a target for vandals, but it is still a hang-out for rowdy youths.

Newton ward councillor Joyce Underhill said most of the problems stemmed from youngsters playing football on the grass, which affected the nearby homes.

She said prickly bushes planted in the area had not solved the problem.

"We got rid of the play equipment and the council put up a lot of prickly bushes in the area to stop the ball games, but it is quite a large open space," she said.

She said there were more suitable areas nearby where youths could play football.

Sandwell Council leisure chief Councillor Linda Horton said they would now be submitting an application for the cash.