A PROBLEM piece of land in Ludgershall could be transformed into a valuable community resource if the local population is prepared to get involved in the project, Ludgershall councillors heard.

After plans to build a BMX facility on the Bell Street allotment site fell through last month because of opposition from neighbouring householders new ideas for the land are under consideration. Parish clerk Janet White told the council that the land continued to pose problems.

"Youths have been on the site over the weekend and have dug a pit and built a shelter - there has been between eight and ten of them there," she said.

"This land has been vacant for a long time and is now a sort of dumping ground for the kids."

But the land could attract tens of thousands of pounds of community regeneration funding if the subject was tackled correctly, Judith Baker from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust told the council.

A key feature in attracting funding from the Allotment Regeneration Initiative or the New Opportunities Fund was getting a wide a range of people involved in a project, she said.

"The land could be turned into a community orchard or used for growing a hazel coppice, which could be harvested," she said.

"The ideal thing would be to get some of the youth involved to do the physical work."

If the orchard really took off it could even lead to the production of Ludgershall cider.

Councillors agreed to float the idea at the next meeting of the Ludgershall residents' forum and if there was support there, to get the plan endorsed by the public at the annual parish meeting on 20 May.