A group of Streetly residents are hoping a 1,200-name petition will help to transform the Hundred Acre Estate.

Valerie Bates has lived on the estate for 47 years and claims a row of shops in Boundary Road is 'a complete eyesore'."When the estate was built during the 1960s it was the policy to provide local shops, usually with maisonettes or flats above," she said.

"As time went on large supermarkets were built, transport improved and people were able to afford cars, so one by one the local shops closed and the flats above, and the garages behind the flats, became the meeting place for the local youth."

She said land near to shops in Boundary Court has become a magnet for rubbish and a meeting point for drug dealers.

"Local residents have been complaining for years about the state of the shops which are now mainly shuttered up and closed, apart from two of the shops which are run as offices," she added.

Anna-Maria Bianco who works for Beacham and Co, said: "The place is a shame because it is such a lovely area and this is the one place that lets us down.

"You get school kids hanging around at night. The paving stones are dangerous and you can't use the hand-rails properly.

"It's disappointing that it has been left to turn into this state."

Carl Harper, also from Beacham and Co, added he would be glad if they knocked the whole building down.

Streetly councillor Eddie Hughes says he is aware of the problems and is hoping Boundary Court will be redeveloped shortly.

"One of the owners of Boundary Court wants to redevelop but there is a stumbling block," he said.

"It is my job to keep Walsall Council aware of what is going on here and at some point we may have to step in to move things along.

"I can't see anything moving on this for another six months.

"The ideal scenario would be for members of Streetly Local Neighbourhood Partnership to be made aware of what is going on and see plans for what could replace Boundary Court in the future."