A care home that was once at the centre of a dispute between residents and the young people it housed has been turned into a home for youths with learning difficulties.

Two years ago the house in Strathfield Gardens, Barking, was used as assisted living accommodation for 16 to 18-year-old boys recently out of care.

Along the same road was Holibrook House, which caters for teenagers aged 14 to 18 with behavioural problems.

A number of complaints were made regarding alleged anti-social behaviour by those living in the houses and after Barking MP Margaret Hodge got involved, Lodge Care Group, which runs the two homes, decided to move the boys in number 20 elsewhere.

Over the summer, the house was reopened as a home for young people with learning difficulties and on Friday (13) Mrs Hodge invited residents from Strathfield Gardens to meet with the new occupants.

She said: “In 2011, the home at 20 Strathfield Gardens was one of two children’s homes in the same street and was the cause of all sorts of problems for local residents. The problems included young people misbehaving and causing a nuisance. It was a case of two homes in one road being one too many.

“However, that’s all changed now. The home at 20 Strathfield Gardens has been refurbished. There’s a really warm and welcoming feeling when you come in and the people who work there really care.”

Resident Alfred Kitchener, 80, said: “Everything has changed. We hardly notice that they are there.”

John Timbs, director of the Lodge Care UK Group, who is responsible for the transformation, said: “I am delighted that by working closely with Mrs Hodge and our neighbours that we are now all able to look forward to giving our residents an opportunity to thrive and prosper within a community that is supportive of our aims and objectives.”