Newly improved Castle Street in Trowbridge reopened for run up to Christmas

This means that full access to local shops and businesses is available for the critical trading period leading up to Christmas.

In order to completely finish the scheme, a specialist contractor will be carrying out resurfacing works at the access road leading to the rear of Castle Place. This work will be completed overnight on 18 December 2023 between the hours of 7pm and midnight resulting in minimal disruption to local businesses.

The works lasted for around six-months, but now the area between Cradle Bridge and the Court Street roundabout benefits from new paving along the footpath and new seating areas provided with new bus shelters.

The area from the Court Street roundabout to Market Street junction also benefits from a widened footpath on the western side and new paving on both sides of Castle Street as well as new road surfacing and improved street lighting.

These works complement the improvements to upgrade street lighting and soft landscaping and tree pruning creating a softer and more welcoming route into the town centre. The existing pedestrian refuge islands around the Court Street/St Stephen's Place roundabout have also been altered to create more direct crossings, with wider waiting areas to accommodate pedestrians, wheelchair users, mobility scooters and cycles.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, said: We are delighted that these improvement works have now been completed creating a far more pleasant and welcoming area for those people who use this key pedestrian link from St Stephen's place complex to the town centre.

We recognise that these improvements have caused some disruption to local businesses and residents and we would like to thank everyone for their patience during this time. We hope everyone will support these local businesses when out Christmas shopping now that full access has been returned to their premises.

One of the council's key priorities is to create vibrant and well-connected communities. The Castle Street improvements are the second in a series of highway projects that form part of the £16 million package of town centre improvements funded through the government's Future High Streets Fund. The first was the junction of Church Street and Union Street which completed in April 2023.

Our focus is now shifting on to the next scheme which will start mid-January 2024 and includes improvements to Manvers Street/Fore Hill and Wicker Hill.

To find out more about the schemes visit: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fhsf-trowbridge.

The Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) competition aims to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability. In May 2021, a business case assessment was completed in accordance with HMT's green book appraisal criteria and DLUHC allocated over £830m to 72 places via the FHSF competition. See press releases associated with the FHSF competition on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/future-high-streets-fund (opens new window).