RESIDENTS on Upton Heath Estate are hoping to turn their "tatty" area into a multi-million pound flagship community.

The Upton Heath regenera-tion scheme is entering its public consultation phase this month. Organisers hope to transform the estate by 2008.

Together with Purbeck District Council and the Purbeck Housing Trust, which owns most of the homes, the residents have formed a committee to draw up plans for their future.

Simon Williams, chair of the residents association, said: "I'm hoping for a six-figure budget. The estate is a good size to develop, and there's no reason not to think big."

Only the buildings can not be touched. Everything else, including Upton Wood next door, is open to change, and residents now have their chance to contribute.

Mr Williams said: "We'll be sending out leaflets in the coming weeks, and over the summer people will have the chance to tell us their ideas.

"We want a better environment overall. There are few facilities at this end of Upton, so we want somewhere for children and adults to enjoy themselves as well as completely new landscaping and traffic management."

The estate was built in the 1960s as a "stop gap" solution to social housing problems and was only designed to last 20 years. As the area turned shabby, so problems such as fly-tipping and poor social cohesion have grown.

Aims for the regeneration project are to reduce crime and disorder, improve health and social responsibility, and increase "fun."

The consultation process is due to last through the summer, after which detailed plans will be drawn up.