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Town centre upgrades now complete

We are delighted to announce that Redditch Town Centre has reached an important milestone with the completion of significant improvement works to Unicorn Hill and Church Green West. Finished over the summer 2025, the project delivers a modern, attractive and more accessible gateway into the heart of the town.

Residents and visitors can now enjoy resurfaced footways, stylish seating, upgraded bins and improved cycle parking. The result is a cleaner, safer and more welcoming environment for everyone using the area.

Cyclists benefit from wider lanes finished with a contrasting green surface to improve visibility and accessibility. Enhanced drainage throughout the site helps prevent surface water issues, creating a more resilient public space that performs well in all weather conditions.

Speed cushions have also been added to help reduce vehicle speeds and further increase safety for those walking and cycling.

Transport links and parking facilities across Unicorn Hill have been carefully redesigned. New loading and disabled bays now make essential access easier, while the upper section of the existing taxi rank has been reworked to provide limited waiting bays during the daytime. These changes help traffic flow more smoothly, offer greater convenience to visitors and support the town’s businesses.

As part of the visual upgrade, unnecessary and outdated street furniture has been removed to create a cleaner, more attractive streetscape. Throughout the works, access to all businesses and properties was maintained to minimise disruption.

The completed improvements reflect a  commitment to regeneration and long-term town centre growth. The refreshed look and enhanced accessibility of Unicorn Hill and Church Green West build on the momentum of earlier projects in Alcester Street and Market Place, creating a vibrant and practical space for the whole community.

This phase of work forms part of Worcestershire’s Local Transport Plan and was made possible through a successful Redditch Borough Council funding bid, delivered in collaboration with us, as the Highways Authority for Worcestershire.

Take a look at our completion  photographs below.  
 

We are making fantastic progress and are excited to share some photographs of the completed footway works. We believe they’ve made a significant improvement to the overall look and feel of the area.

Earlier phases have already been delivered in Alcester Street and Market Place.

This final and third phase of improvements form part of the Redditch Transport Strategy outlined in the current Worcestershire Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4) supporting regeneration and economic growth.

Public space upgrades will focus on:

• Unicorn Hill
• Church Green West and
• St Stephen’s churchyard

The scheme will deliver a high-quality public realm using sustainable, maintainable and appropriate surfacing materials which will complement the surrounding space and could extend to replacement LED street lighting.

Construction is planned for late summer and autumn 2024.

Download: Redditch Public Real Phase 3 Map - Unicorn Hill (PDF)

Download: Redditch Public Real Phase 3 Map - Church Green West (PDF)

Map Description: These maps show the various works that will be taking place along Unicorn Hill and Church Green West.

Market Place improvements background

Improvement works on Market Place, Redditch were part of the Council’s wider Town Centre Improvement Programme.

The works on Market Place link in with previous improvement works that took place in 2017 on Alcester Street and Church Green East.

Completed work in Alcester Street and Church Green East

Key components of the scheme were

• replacement of central drainage channel on Evesham Walk
• full refresh of paving at the junction of Evesham Walk and Market Place
• full refresh of paving down Market Place into Mercian Square
• link in with previous improvement works.

Scheme objectives were

• improve street aesthetics
• improve footfall and time spent on the street
• encourage the use of non-vehicular transport
• improve safety for all users

Alcester Street, Redditch

The scheme to improve Alcester Street, Grove Street, Peakman Street and Church Green East was formulated following a public consultation exercise in 2011.

The improvement scheme consisted of a number of measures including:

• resurfacing the pavements and roads
• improving drainage
• the replacement of unsuitable tree species
• the installation of new street furniture eg bins, seats and planters