POLICE, housing trust bosses and councillors in Bromsgrove have rallied together to make Rock Hill a safer and cleaner place to live.

A meeting, organised by ward member Cllr Michael Thompson last week, was attended by residents of a crime-hit estate encompassing Breakback Road, Foxwalks Avenue, Alderley Road and Whitford Close, as well as representatives from West Mercia Police, Bromsgrove District and Worcestershire County Councils, and Bromsgrove District Housing Trust.

Issues discussed included a recent rise in drug-dealing, fly-tipping and prostitution, litter, CCTV, garage sites and the proposed Whitford Road development.

Cllr Thompson said: "The residents of this community demonstrated, to great effect, that real change comes from communities coming together.

"Politicians may speak their sound bites but real change comes from grass roots.

"I'm grateful to these residents for their patience, resilience and continued efforts in the face of difficulty, to make this part of Bromsgrove a better place to live."

In response to concerns raised at the meeting, BDHT visited the area the following day to clean up rubbish dumped in the streets.

Director Graeme Anderson said: "We will always make an effort to remove it but in order to resolve the situation properly we do need to know who’s dropping it there in the first place.

“In our view, the biggest impact comes from all parties working together to make Rock Hill an even better place to live.

"So we will continue to work closely with the police to support their work in tackling crime in the area, as well as with the local authority and most importantly the residents.”

Sergeant David King, from Bromsgrove Safer Neighbourhood Team, reassured that officers would continue high-visibility patrols in the area.

Speaking after the meeting, Rock Hill resident Sara Westwood said: "It was nice to walk up the road that day after the meeting to see all the rubbish and bushes have been cleaned up."

A PACT meeting is being held at 7pm tonight at Millfields School, to further discuss anti-social behaviour.