ANTI-SOCIAL teenagers are no longer making the lives of Catshill residents a misery.

That's the claim from Bromsgrove District Council just a year after it pioneered a project to get youngsters off the streets and into a youth club.

Council chiefs, along with other interested parties such as the police and fire brigade, plan to meet with residents next week to get feedback on how life has changed in the area. People in Catshill and Marlbrook complained that too many teenagers were causing mischief.

The council identified that the closure of the youth centre, near Catshill Middle School on Meadow Road, was a major contributor to the problem - and quickly re-opened the building after speeding up prolonged restoration work.

The centre now houses up to 90 youngsters twice a week, with youth workers running activities like soccer training and art classes.

Such is the turnaround in the area, the project was recently identified by the Government as a beacon for similar pilot schemes across Britain.

And now the council is eager to build on its successes to improve the quality of life further for Catshill's residents and youngsters.

"People in Catshill told us a year ago that there was a problem and they needed something done immediately, and that's exactly what we did," said Graham Rocke, the council's community partnership officer.

"The basic problem was the kids were gathering on the streets and causing mischief because they had nothing else to do.

"We quickly identified that the re-opening of the youth centre could help things and outreach workers were sent in to work with the young people.

"We began putting on some soccer coaching. A few turned up at first and, by the third week, we had forty youngsters attend!"

Residents are now being encouraged to attend next Thursday's 'Spotlight on Catshill' meeting at Catshill Village Hall in Golden Cross Lane (7pm) to give their views and take part in a question-and-answer session. Fire-safety and hospital-care issues are the other hot topics up for discussion.

l Do you live in Catshill? Has life improved in the area? Ring the newsdesk on 01527 837000

and let us know.