THE fight is over! Youngsters on Larches estate are finally to get somewhere to play.

For nearly two years residents have worked with the council and police to find an area of land suitable for turning into a play area.

In February a plot of land on Catforth Road was bought by the council housing department. Then last month it was passed on to the leisure department, and the council realised the perfect area had been found.

Now council chiefs have given the go-ahead for the site -- originally the North Road Christian Fellowship -- to be developed into a recreation area.

Larches Councillor Joe Fitzgerald explained how it all came about. He said: "The scheme has been on the drawing board for around two years.

"We have always known about the problems on the Larches estate, so we needed to look for a way to get the children something to do, and keep them off the streets.

"We knew we wouldn't be able to build a leisure centre, or a football pitch, because we just didn't have the resources. But when this site became free it was ideal."

The first step of the scheme was to talk to youth officers and local children. "We asked them what they would like in the area, and tried to help," said Coun Fitzgerald. "The children have been involved since day one."

Work has already begun to surface the area, and the centre piece will be a £2,000 basketball court donated by the English basketball association.

The first basketball could be bouncing across the court in a matter of weeks.

And the scheme has received high praise from the police. Sgt Nigel Lister of Lea police station said he hoped it would keep children out of trouble on the troubled Larches

He said: "We feel that anything that diverts local children away from causing problems or getting into trouble themselves is a good thing. The site itself is a piece of derelict land and is a bit of a mess, so anything being done to improve the place has got to be a good thing!"

Councillor Veronica Afrin, the cabinet member for the community, regeneration and leisure, said: "We're responding to young people's needs by providing this new football and basketball facility on the estate -- which we hope will be well used. We are grateful to the English Basketball Association for providing us with the basketball equipment."