A COMMUNITY facility for people living in Batchley will finally be opened at the end of February after two years in the planning, writes Becky Procter.

Two flats, 21 and 21a, in Salters Lane, have been transformed into four large rooms which will be used as a base for organisations, drop-in sessions and coffee mornings.

Batchley Support Group, which includes a number of agencies such as Redditch Council, has set up the project, which has been given lottery funding.

Various agencies, including the police, Credit Union and trained counsellors will all have access to the building.

And the council's environmental taskforce, which takes on and trains people who have been unemployed for a long time, will also be based at the new centre.

The project will run alongside the Salters Lane Action Project (SLAP), which was set up to improve the area and has included the transformation of many people's gardens.