WHAT a weekend for Worcester! After a busy Friday surgery it was a joy to attend the re-opening of the Commandery followed by the official opening of Cathedral Square on Saturday.
Both were perhaps corrections of past mistakes but also wonderful examples of Worcester making the most of its unique offer and improving its attraction to locals and visitors alike through investment and regeneration.
I believe it was always a mistake to allow the area opposite our beautiful Cathedral to become a concrete jungle and for the Commandery to become a museum of social history that could have been anywhere in England.
The new displays bring the English Civil War back to life and demonstrate its significance to the modern world, a hugely welcome restoration.
The transformation of the area in front of the Cathedral from a grey roundabout to a golden public square will be an even bigger boost to Worcester.
Not only does this reconnect the High Street to the Cathedral, helping visitors to move seamlessly from one to the other, it also creates an elegant new public space for events.
The new restaurants and bars will add to Worcester’s already strong offer as a night-time economy and create welcome new jobs for local people.
Along with news of the first major investments in the Worcester Six tech park and the hugely welcome announcement of £29 million of capital investment in our hospitals, the regeneration of Cathedral Square is a boost to local jobs at a time when unemployment is close to all-time lows.
Worcester welcomed the Duchess of Gloucester to the wonderful childrens’ charity New Hope and the Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre which does such vital work, as well as by the Prince of Wales to the world class Three Choirs Festival.
I enjoyed an evening of musical entertainment at the moving and beautiful “English Farewell” finale.
With events this coming week to commemorate the centenary of Passchendaele, our city is showing its true colours as a vibrant cultural centre, rich in history but with a bright future ahead of it.
