ONE of Worle's newest councillors wants residents to be able to buy up areas of land around their houses to keep 'bored youths' out

ONE of Worle's newest councillors wants residents to be able to buy up areas of land around their houses to keep 'bored youths' out.Edward Keating, who was recently elected to cover South Worle, wants the local authority to help people to purchase small pieces of grass from the council itself or housing associations.Councillor Keating says this will not only stop residents from being driven to 'despair' but will save North Somerset Council money.He says at the moment the authority has to pay for upkeep of some of the small areas of land but instead it can generate a one-off lump payment from residents.Councillor Keating said: "Empty spaces around houses on estates such as Mead Vale and Preanes Green are the places where bored youths have been known to gather and this can cause disruption to residents, through noise or even using the wall to bounce balls off. "Often this is harmless fun from the point of view of the young people, but to residents the disturbance can drive them to despair. "North Somerset Council has the right to sell these pieces of land to residents, providing the land is not a public pathway. There is a specific legal process already in place for this function. I am not talking about big areas of land. Even just the six feet stretch parallel to the side of a home can ensure the activities of young people can be kept far enough away from residents so that they are no longer disturbed. "This is not about losing the vital green spaces around our estates, it is about small pockets of land that can make a real difference to quality of life.