RESIDENTS in Rossendale will soon benefit from a new leisure facility which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour and wipe out juvenile nuisance.

The wheeled sport park, which will include facilities for skateboarders, BMX bikers and rollerblades, will be set up on Edgeside Estate, Edgeside, Waterfoot.

The initiative has already won £3,000 worth of funding from Lancashire County Council's crime and disorder initiative.

The new park is part of a £200,000 project which has funded similar initiatives across Lancashire to help communities reduce crime and disorder.

And the county council looks set to increase the budget to £210,000 this month in a bid to release extra cash for a year to areas blighted by crime and disorder .

This will include countywide initiatives, such as this year's truancy sweep.

Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships are now invited to place their bids for a share of the £162,000 up for grabs to districts.

County councillor Dr Ruth Henig CBE, cabinet member for cross-cutting issues, said: "This scheme aims to provide a safe, legitimate gathering place to prevent young people turning to crime because of boredom.

"Success of this project will be measured by the number of youths using the facility and the reduction of juvenile nuisance in the area."

Other newly-funded projects include £9,000 to extend a cyber caf at an IT training centre in Clitheroe.

The project intends to improve self-esteem among children who have limited access to computers.

Dr Henig added: "These are just three examples of the 29 district projects we have funded to date.

"We have also given money to seven major initiatives countywide and we hope that all these schemes will make a real difference to the lives of people in Lancashire by reducing crime and anti-social behaviour."