A MAJOR £1million revamp of Worcester city centre is in the pipeline with pavements and streets set to be spruced up.
In a fresh bid by council chiefs to improve the look of the heart of the city for shoppers and tourists, Worcestershire County Council and the City Council are stumping up £500,000 each to resurface Broad Street and The Shambles and improve the pavements.
The investment was announced as part of the County Council’s budget update for 2016/17 last Friday (January 29), in which the Conservative leadership confirmed they have plugged the £11million funding gap- created by the grant from the Government coming in much worse than expected. But, council chiefs claim front line services have not been affected as a result of further savings made.
Worcester’s roads could also be given a face lift as £12million worth of investment is planned to improve the standards of the county’s roads.
And city residents can still expect their council tax bills to go up this year by four per cent, a £42.54 rise added to the average Band D bill.
The next four years will be difficult for Worcestershire County Council, with savings of £20million still needed to be found for 2017 and £25million on average after that up until 2020.
Worcestershire County Council Leader, Coun Simon Geraghty, said: “One of things that I’m very keen to see is to make sure that our city and town centres continue to be improved. They’re social spaces as well; people are going there to spend their social time and to meet other people to do business.
“One of the streets we want to bring up to a better standard is The Shambles and also to finish off the work on Broad Street.”
Coun Marc Bayliss, Worcester City Council’s Cabinet member for Economic Prosperity, said: “Enhancing the city centre is one of the key priorities in our Corporate Plan and I’m delighted that we are allocating £500,000 in the City Council’s 2016/17 budget for improvements to the pavements and street surfaces, including Broad Street and The Shambles.”
Adrian Field, from Worcester Business Improvement District, said: “It’s great news. The Shambles rightfully needs sprucing up; I know businesses will be supportive of that.
“We’re very pleased with this and businesses I’ve spoken to are delighted. It should make Worcester a more beautiful place.”
