WORK is set to start on the final part of the improvements to Tenbury town centre.

The project that has been beset by problems and delays will be finally completed in the autumn, according to Worcestershire County Council.

A promise has also been made that the work will be completed by December and so will not disrupt the town in the run-up to Christmas.

The improvements are planned to start on Monday (September 11) and be completed by the end of November.

They will include new pavement and road surfacing, new bins, planters and bollards as well as an improved pedestrian crossing and street lighting.

"The two phases of work represents an investment of more than £1.2m in Tenbury Wells and are part of a countywide drive to improve the attractiveness of town centres across Worcestershire,” said Ken Pollock, who represents Tenbury on Worcestershire County Council where he is also be cabinet member with responsibility for economy and infrastructure.

"We understand that town centres are very important to the county's economy and this scheme, as well as others across the county, is an important part of supporting our already booming economy."

The works in Teme Street will complete the existing scheme in Market Street up to Crow Corner and the work carried out as part of the new Tesco scheme - funded under a S273 agreement as part of the planning permission, saving taxpayer money - which ends by the Regal Cinema.

Disruption will be kept to a minimum, according to Worcestershire County Council, as contractors plan to undertake road surfacing at night, while pavement works will be done during the day thereby causing as little disruption to traffic as possible.

The impact of works will be minimised further during key events, including Applefest, said the council.

Worcestershire County Council recently funded and constructed a new overflow car park for the town council on Palmer's Meadow to provide more parking spaces for visitors.

The improvements to the town centre have dragged on for years.

Originally the plan was to get all of the work done at once but the county council was dependent for this on money that was promised as part of the planning agreement with Tesco.

Therefore, just one phase of the project was done and then work was put on hold awaiting the contribution from Tesco.

However, the Tesco project that was first mooted seven years ago underwent a series of delays as the supermarket postponed the start of work.

Tesco were not willing to release their contribution until a start was made on building the supermarket on the former cattle market site.

Work on levelling the site eventually began at the end of the summer of 2016 and construction of the supermarket began in October last year with a view to opening in February.

But there was a further delay with Tesco finally opening in April.

The first phase of the town-centre refurbishment was also dogged with problems including complaints about the quality of the work and disruption to traffic, resulting in loss of business for traders.