Residents in the Radlett Road area are celebrating after funding was agreed for a new £130,000 outdoor sports facility.

The Watford Community Housing Trust, which owns many of the homes on the Radlett Road Estate, has heeded repeated calls for action and agreed to fund the facility, which will eventually be built in the Radlett Road Playing Fields.

The Radlett Road Residents Association, which has enjoyed a renaissance over the last 18 months, has argued that the facility will foster better community relations and steer young people away from antisocial behaviour.

The scheme will now enter the planning stage, before a formal development application is put to Watford Borough Council later in the year.

Councillor Helen Lynch, who has been calling for the scheme for many months, said the facility could be open as early as next spring.

She added: “It’s really brilliant news that the trust has agreed to put this money forward. It’s all got to go to consultation with residents, the council and police but this is really positive news.

“At the moment there is nowhere for kids to play football and cricket so they have been playing in areas [like Central Primary School] where they have been causing problems. We hope that this new facility will provide a central location for organised competitions and leagues and help to generate a better community spirit.”

The new games area will be similar in design to the one that currently stands in the King George V Recreation Ground in Tolpits Lane, It will include provision for football, basketball, cricket and a range of other sports.

The development will also include a so-called trim trail – a line of outdoor exercise machines to promote fitness and wellbeing.

Gareth Lewis, director of property and new business at Watford Community Housing Trust, said: “From speaking to our residents in the Radlett Road area, we know there is a pressing need for more activities for young people in the area. We are therefore all too happy to commit £130,000 from our Better Communities Fund towards this new game area and ‘Trim Trail’ for the local community.”