Angel Place and Angel Row

Improvements have been made to Angel Place and Angel Row in Worcester, as part of the wider Future High Street programme of public realm improvements in the City Centre.

Phase 1 is now complete. Please see photos below:

Improvements included:

• conservation kerbs and lining
• new surfacing, including blockwork in Autumn and Graphite
• new railings and bollards
• new lighting
• new street furniture, e.g. bins

This can be seen in the two maps below.

Map 1: proposed design for Angel Place:

Map 2: Proposed design for Angel Row

The main aims of the works were to:

• improve how the street looks
• improve footfall and time spent in area
• enhance safety for all users and
• update the paving and other materials to complement recent works completed in the city

Trinity Street, Saint Swithin’s Street and Trinity Passage

Work to upgrade the public realm on Trinity St, St Swithin’s St and Trinity Passage has now been completed (subject to a street lighting upgrade).

Phase 2 work took place on Trinity Street (south of its junction with The Trinity) and Saint Swithin’s Street and included Trinity Passage. See maps below,

The works saw all footway areas and carriageway parking bays upgraded with new materials. The carriageway has been resurfaced.

Phase 2 works commenced in April 2022. The images below show the completed work:

The Cross

Work to upgrade the public realm on The Cross is now complete.

The works have seen all footway areas and carriageway parking bays upgraded with new materials. The carriageway has been narrowed to accommodate a widened footway on the west side and has been fully resurfaced. See the map below., has been narrowed to accommodate a widened footway on the west side. See the map below.

Phase 3 started on Monday 20 June 2022. The works were programmed to last up to 19 weeks

Phase 3A

During June/July, works took place on the cycle shelters, east footway, and parking bays. Both vehicle and pedestrian access were maintained throughout. The taxi rank on The Cross was suspended Monday to Friday during normal working hours but was accessible outside of these hours and at weekends. 

Phase 3B

During August and September, works took place on both footways. Pedestrian access was maintained throughout. The one-way system on the north section of Trinity Street was reversed during the closure to allow egress from The Trinity. The taxi ranks on both The Cross and Saint Swithin’s Street were inaccessible during the closure. Access to taxi’s was possible outside of these hours on both streets, but with reduced capacity on The Cross.

Phase 3C

From September, works on the west footway and taxi rank were delivered. Both vehicle and pedestrian access was be maintained throughout.

Phase 3D

During October, works at the south end of the street took place.

Some images of the completed works at The Cross.

Trinity Street, St Nicholas Street and The Foregate

Trinity Street, St Nicholas Street and The Foregate

Work to upgrade the public realm in this area of the City Worcester City is now complete.

Phase 4A – Trinity St

Phase 4 works have now finished on Trinity Street. The works saw all footway areas and parking bays upgraded with new materials. The carriageway has also been resurfaced.

The Phase 4A works on Trinity Street started in October 2022 and lasted approximately five weeks.

Pedestrian access was maintained throughout; however, the road was closed to vehicles between 10:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday. Vehicle access outside of these hours was permitted but with reduced space for loading and unloading. During the closure vehicles were diverted via Queen St and The Trinity. The taxi ranks on both The Cross and St Swithin’s St were fully accessible throughout the works.

Photos of the completed work can be seen below:

Phase 4B: St Nicholas Street

The work in St Nicholas Street have completed.

The works saw all footway areas upgraded with new materials, and the north footway retained with a new structure at the east end of the street. This was a replacement of the original low retaining wall on St Nicholas Street and a handrail was installed for enhanced safety.

The carriageway has been fully resurfaced.

Pedestrian and vehicle access was maintained throughout the works, with vehicles contained in a single lane.

Phase 4C: The Foregate

Phase 4C works are now complete with all footway areas and parking bays upgraded with new materials. The carriageway has also been resurfaced.

Phase 5 of improvement works have been completed on Foregate Street and have seen all footway areas upgraded with new natural stone paving and the signalised pedestrian crossing relocated from near Pierpoint Street to outside the rail station.

To make space for the relocated crossing the bus stops have been moved slightly whilst facilities for taxis have remained where they were.

This photo shows the completed works on Foregate street.

The final phase of work on Angel Street is partially complete. Work has been paused to allow for the Scala building to be refurbished. Ultimately, the Angel Street works will include the delivery of a high quality, sustainable, maintainable place including new surfacing materials, lighting, street furniture and trees that will complement the surrounding area.

The scheme will see a general widening of footway areas. Full access to the street will be permitted for cyclists and a new loading bay will be introduced from which all deliveries to the street can be made safely.

A design showing the proposals for this final phase (Phase 6) can be seen in the image below. So far only works to the north footway have been completed as pictured above. 

September 2024

The final phase of work on Angel Street is partially complete. Work has been paused to allow for the Scala building to be refurbished.

If you would like to follow the progress of the new Scala, Worcester, and also sign up to a dedicated newsletter, please visit: Scala Worcester Website 

Ultimately, the Angel Street works will include the delivery of a high quality, sustainable, maintainable place including new surfacing materials, lighting, street furniture and trees that will complement the surrounding area.

March 2024

Upgrades have already been completed in Angel Row, Angel Place, St Swithin’s Street, Trinity Passage, The Cross, Trinity Street, St Nicholas Street and The Foregate.

The most recent improvements to Foregate Street are due to be completed shortly.

Final works will see an upgrade to public space on Angel Street, to deliver a high quality, sustainable, maintainable place including new surfacing materials, lighting, street furniture and trees that will complement the surrounding area.

The scheme will see a general widening of footway areas. Full access to the street will be permitted for cyclists and a new loading bay will be introduced from which all deliveries to the street can be made safely.

Most of the works will be delivered under a full road closure starting just after the school Easter holidays in April. Dependant on progress with Foregate Street, it’s hoped to make a start at the end of March with some advanced works which can be done safely ahead of the road closure.

The road closure will be in place for up to 14 weeks.

December 2023

December 2023 Works on Phase 5 Foregate St are going well and currently ahead of schedule. Works will cease over the Christmas period and the southbound bus lane will be reopened to aid the local Christmas economy. Work will recommence in January.

July 2023

Phase 4 of the Worcester Future High Street Fund works has seen improvements made on Trinity Street, St Nicholas Street and The Foregate.

Check out the video below for some of the before and after images.

January 2023

Works on Phase 4B in St Nicholas Street commenced on 3 January, 2023 and will see all footway areas upgraded with new materials. The north footway will be retained with a new structure at the east end of the street, this is a replacement of the existing low retaining wall on St Nicholas Street and a handrail will be installed for enhanced safety.

The carriageway will be resurfaced in a later phase.

The work will last approximately three months.

Pedestrian and vehicle access will be maintained throughout the works, with vehicles contained in a single lane. Vehicles will not be permitted to access St Nicholas Street from Sansome Street for an eight week period from the end of January 2023.

There will be reduced space for loading/unloading and the taxi rank on St Nicholas Street will be suspended during the works. A temporary bus stop will be provided when not practical to use the existing stop.

The timings given above are indicative and are subject to change.

June 2022

Plans to revitalise parts of Worcester city centre have taken a major step forward as works at The Cross will start shortly.

Over recent months improvements have been taking place on Angel Row and Angel Place (Phase one) and The Trinity, St Swithin’s Street and Trinity Passage (Phase two). The works on The Cross, being delivered by Worcestershire County Council, are scheduled to last for up to 19 weeks and will include restrictions to traffic movements to enable the improvements.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member with Responsibility for  Economy, Infrastructure and Skills and Leader of Worcester City Council, said:

"These works have continued at pace over the past couple of months and it’s great to see Phases one and two on schedule.

It’s fantastic news that the third phase of work is now about to begin on The Cross. Improving the city centre will make the area more attractive to everyone including residents, shoppers and businesses, helping to create a better environment, worthy of Worcester’s historic character.

 I’d like to thank everyone for their patience and support as the work progresses.”

The improvements on The Cross will include new surfacing, lighting, planting and decluttering. The existing cycle shelters will also be refurbished.

The overall programme, which will continue into 2024, is part of the major regeneration of the city centre, supported by £17.9 million from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

 The city centre programme follows Worcester City Council’s successful bid for funding from the Future High Street Fund.  Worcestershire County Council is working in partnership with Worcester City Council to deliver a programme of improvements across the north end of the city centre.

Update to 11 February 2022

Works have been progressing well along Angel Row. Works have been completed in the area around the outside of the entrance to Crowngate Shopping Centre. Access to and from The Hive and Crowngate has now been restored ahead of schedule. This will offer pedestrians an alternative route to the city centre whilst the eastern section of Angel Row remains closed for the works.

Area around the entrance to Crowngate complete

The final section of new linear drainage has now been installed along with some new gullies to collect water from down pipes from the surrounding roofs. Works have begun to install some new recessed covers which offer improved aesthetics as they blend in with the surrounding paving. The new tree pit surround has been completed with fresh topsoil ready to be planted later in the project. Finally, an additional area for planting has also been restored adjacent to Northwall House.

Area around the enterance to Crowngate complete

Over the next few weeks the new block paving in Angel Row will be laid, working west towards Angel Place; whilst maintaining our full footway closure for the safety of workers and members of the public.  All emergency escape routes from the adjacent premises will be maintained outside of our working times on site.

First recessed covers being installed

Looking further ahead, once all works are completed in Angel Row, works to upgrade the footways along Angel Place will follow on.  These works are expected to commence early March and will take place under road closures during the working hours on site.

Pedestrian marshals will continue to be on site to assist pedestrians and coordinate plant movements to and from our site compound.