A plan to build a new community sports centre will help combat drug problems in the west end, Education Minister Terry Lister said this week.

The Sandys Secondary School Foundation is raising funds to build a complex which will offer activities and classes for young people in Somerset, as well as sports facilities for the whole community.

The charity has already raised $1.4 million and been given $1 million from the Ministry of Education. It needs another $5 million to complete the project.

Seven schools ? joined together as the Sandys Family of Schools (SFS) ? are hoping to raise $250,000 towards the goal with a Heritage Wellness Walk next month.

At a press conference to announce the walk, Mr. Lister said the Government was not happy that Cambridge Road in Somerset was known as ?Gun Alley? and that young people were known to take drugs in the area.

?This project will take these youngsters away from their ?rightful? place in Gun Alley and give them their rightful place in the community,? he said.

?This facility will be a gathering place for the community, a place where students and others can engage in wholesome, meaningful activities.?

Kimberley Jackson, chairwoman of the SFS committee, said: ?It will bring families together and it gives them the opportunity to change things together in a positive environment. The idea is that it?s a family hub.

?There are some traditional areas like Gun Alley where there are young men sitting on the street and alleged drug activity going on. These are the things that we want to turn into positives. We want to rid these negative elements from the street, from the eyes of our youth. It?s only a community that can do that.?

The project is being backed by the Ministry of Drug Control. Wayne Perinchief, Minister of Drug Control, said: ?I?m excited about what is taking place here. This is an awesome beginning. It takes one generation to plant the seeds so that the next generation can enjoy the shade when the seeds grow into a sturdy tree.?

He said the Ministry would be involved in running workshops within the community centre, providing resources and giving drugs education.

The seven schools involved in the project are Port Royal, Southampton Glebe, West End and Somerset primary schools, Sandys Secondary Middle School and Southampton and Lagoon Park pre-schools.

The sports centre ? featuring a gym, fitness centre and swimming pool ? will be built at Sandys Secondary Middle School on Broome Street.

Principal Dr. Melvyn Bassett said he was ?ecstatic? at the way the project was going, adding: ?I?m very excited. There is still a way to go but we are going to get started this year.?

Walter Roberts, chairman of the Sandys Secondary School Foundation, said work on the site would start with the demolition of a cottage on May 19.

?We know that it?s going to be successful,? he said of the scheme.

About 850 students, parents and teachers will take part in the sponsored walk, which begins at 11.30 a.m. on Friday, May 19. They will take in the railway trails and scenic routes of Southampton and Sandys and collect trash en route before a rally at Sandys Secondary Middle School. To find out how to make a pledge visit www.sandysfamily.org.