A NEW £250,000 community building is being built on a troubled Newport estate in a bid to keep youngsters out of trouble.

Yesterday we revealed how police were told at a consultation meeting by one furious Bettws resident that young yobs are forcing other people into a "curfew" at nights.

Police have promised to raise their profile as a result.

Now Bettws in Bloom has secured grants to enable the the new building to be constructed near the police station.

The idea behind the scheme is to provide a community environmental educational heritage and activity centre which will be for all people, both young and old, on the estate.

The building will also be used in the evenings to provide youngsters on the estate with a place to go.

Colin Baker, of Bettws in Bloom, said: "The reason for it is to help youngsters have something to do because obviously the cause of all this vandalism is boredom,and they have absolutely nowhere to go."

Councillor Noel Trigg added: "We want to encourage the youngsters on the estates to take an interest in Bettws and the environment and 99 per cent of them are good youngsters. We have got to plant that seed to get them motivated with looking at the environment."

The building will consist of changing-rooms to be used by local football teams, a kitchen and various meeting-rooms.

The design of the building means it can be easily extended, and it is hoped the next stage will include an area for gymnastics.

The construction of the building is due to start soon and it will hopefully be finished in time for the Easter school holidays.

The money for the building has come from grants from a number of organisations including the National Assembly, the Sir Julian Hodge Trust, the Wales Voluntary Group of Action, Millennium Awards, All Wales Award ICI, Barclays Bank and the Esme Fairbound Foundation.

The building is the latest in a number of schemes under- taken by Bettws in Bloom which include a community minibus and a sensory garden.

Their efforts were recognised when they were awarded the Queen's Royal Jubilee Award for their work on the environment.