project cost £3.364 million, with funding coming from Advantage West Midlands, Castle Vale HAT, Ashtenne plc and the European Regional Development Fund. The park was completed ahead of schedule and officially opened by Alex Stephenson, chairman of Advantage West Midlands, in June 2000. Following its completion, approximately 200 jobs have been created. Crime reduction Crime was one of the significant issues affecting the residents of the estate and various initiatives were employed by CVHAT to reduce crime rates. Despite these measures, crime rose on the estate until near the end of the HAT's existence. Initially, crime reduction measures were fragmented and poorly implemented. The establishment of ValeWatch in June 1997, a partnership between West Midlands Police and CVHAT which organised monthly meetings where intelligence on offenders was shared, brought about a more co-ordinated approach to tackling crime. In 1998, a series of Community Safety Forums were held which were public events for the residents where they could express concerns that they had. These meetings were attended by approximately 200 people. Working groups, which consisted of residents, CVHAT staff and agency representatives, were set up as a result of the forums to tackle specific issues affecting the estate. One working group focussed on the use of CCTV on the estate to improve surveillance on troublespots. The HAT submitted a bid for £450,000 to the Government's Crime Reduction Programme which led to the installation of 29 new CCTV cameras. ValeWatch also allowed the HAT to tackle the source of crime in the estate and, in 1998, evicted the ringleaders of the Green Box Gang, which was small, notorious gang consisting mainly of teenage troublemakers. These were the first evictees from the estate. In Autumn 2000, CVHAT sought the eviction of five families who were accused of persistently breaking their tenancy conditions. This was considered to be a landmark case as it used a multi-trial approach where all five families could be tried at once, saving the HAT time and money. A further 20 families were given Notices of Seeking Possession during 2000, and the HAT collated evidence and built cases against the families. During this time, some of the families improved their behaviour while others left the estate. Those that were taken to court saw cases that involved 112 witness statements, supported by covert surveillance footage in some instances. A major problem on the estate in the past was the presence of