Improvements works starting in Trowbridge town centre in January 2024

Manvers Street, Fore Street and Wicker Hill are the next areas in Trowbridge to benefit from improvements as part of the government's £16 million investment via the Future High Streets Fund.

This is the third in a series of road improvement schemes with works due to start from Monday 15 January 2024 for approximately 12 months, split across distinct phases. The first phase starting on 15 January, will take approximately 4 months to complete. During this time, on street parking will be suspended, but the road will remain open to traffic and all businesses and homes will be accessible.

Manvers Street is a popular route into the town centre for pedestrians from the Sainsbury's store and residential areas. The aim is to further improve this route by opening up the area in front of Manvers House. To do this, changes will be made to the existing wall alignment and removal of the vegetation that currently blocks the view to Manvers House. There are also some trees identified as being in poor condition that will need to be removed.

In addition, the footpath will be widened and paved with slabs to tie in with the surrounding paved areas. New bus shelters will be provided outside Manvers House to create more space for those waiting for the bus and those walking through Manvers Street. These will have 'green roofs' designed to support pollinating insects and enhance biodiversity into the town centre and new soft landscaping will be provided. There will also be enhancements to street lighting with heritage columns being used.

The aim for Fore Street and Wicker Hill area is to provide improved space for pedestrians and better linkage between the town centre and railway station. This will be achieved by widening the footpaths using similar materials to the previous enhancements. The layout and material choices have been carefully considered to reflect the heritage of this area and the listed buildings within it.

The scheme provides the opportunity to create new open space areas on Wicker Hill with additional tree planting, soft landscaping and seating. This will link into the work being developed as part of the River Biss corridor scheme, also being funded via the government's Future High Streets Fund.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "We wanted to give advance notice of this scheme because of the length of the construction period and we apologise in advance for any disruption caused.

"One of our Business Plan priorities is to create vibrant and well-connected communities and the Manvers Street, Fore Street and Wicker Hill improvements are the latest in a series of schemes to improve walking and cycling routes into the town centre.

"Local people are already benefiting from the improvements made at the junction of Church Street and Union Street, and more recently at Castle Street. In the meantime, we will keep everyone updated on the phased works next year at Manvers Street, Fore Street and Wicker Hill and would remind people that businesses will be open as usual, and that access will be maintained for residents and shoppers throughout the construction period."

To find out more about the schemes visit our website.