Abbey Road junction

There has been engagement with developers to determine solutions in June 2022 where it was agreed that the delivery of the design would be progressed through Developer consultants over next few years. Leader and CMR have been updated.

Active travel

Evesham Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) is now being completed by AECOM, to take on board the comments from the consultation and from latest Government advice on LCWIPs. The timetable is for the plan to be completed by spring 2023.

August 2022

Wychavon has made a £19 million bid to help kick-start the transformation of Evesham Town Centre. The ambition is to open the heart of the town centre to make the most of views over Abbey Park and the River Avon. The proposal will also reconnect the main shopping area with Evesham's heritage assets like the Bell Tower, the churches of All Saints and St Laurence's and Abbey grounds and the Almonry Museum.

December 2021

Avon Street one-way trial

The trial is now complete and following review of the traffic flow data and feedback received during the experiment, the decision has been taken to revert back to the original layout.

October 2021

Evesham town centre improvements now complete

Works to make improvements to Evesham town centre are now complete.

The improvements have taken place on Port Street and at the Waterside/Port Street Junction, as part of Worcestershire County Council’s commitment to enhancing town centres across the county.

The works included repaving the footways on Port Street, the reconfiguration of the area outside the former Talbot Pub, updating traffic signals at the Waterside/Port Street Junction, a new controlled pedestrian crossing across Waterside, the upgrade of traffic signals on Port Street and enhanced street lighting.

August 2021

Avon Street one-way trial

The experiment will be extended to cover the month of September, as we see a return to school runs and its associated impact on the local network. Following this, the comments regarding the scheme will be collated into a report for consideration by the Local Member.

July 2021

Evesham town centre improvements progressing well

Improvement works in Evesham to relieve congestion and enhance the town centre are progressing well.

The works are taking place on Port Street and the Waterside/Port Street Junction and are part of Worcestershire County Council’s commitment to tackling congestion and improving town centres across the county.

So far, works have focussed on reconstructing the paving along Port Street between Waterside and the junction with Burford Road. To allow these works to take place a full road closure was required, which has now been lifted. The street lighting along Port Street has been upgraded and new traffic signals have been installed outside the Regal Cinema.

Work has also taken place at the Waterside Junction, including the installation of a new signal-controlled pedestrian crossing, removing the existing traffic signals and resurfacing works.

September 2020

Avon Street one-way trial

Much of Avon Street was already one-way: this trial has converted the short stretch of two-way running, adjacent to the junction with High Street, to one-way. With traffic flow restricted to ‘into’ Avon Street (from High Street), this means the Avon Street ‘stage’ in the cycle of the High Street traffic signals is no longer needed, speeding-up the overall cycle of the signals. This gives more time to traffic flow on High Street and Swan Lane.

An “experimental traffic regulation order”, backed by consultation with the Chief Constable, District Council and official freight associations, enabled the trial to be put in place on 24 May 2020.

Beginning the trial at the height of the pandemic lockdown allowed the reconfigured road layout to become safely ‘established’ while traffic volume was so greatly reduced. 

Traffic monitoring on associated routes through Evesham has already picked-up how the trial ‘bedded-in’ during its early, low traffic months and it will show how it influences flows as traffic volumes rise towards pre-lockdown levels. This will inform the decision on whether to make the trial a permanent arrangement.

The Avon Street trial represents the beginning of a second phase of the Evesham Transport Strategy.

June 2020

Local pinch point fund

The Budget 2018 announced the creation of a £150 million fund for high-impact schemes to help address congestion pinch points and to reduce congestion on local roads. Following on from this, in the summer of 2019 the Government invited local authorities to bid for a share of this fund, with £75 million to be awarded in each financial year 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023.

Aims

The fund aims to boost economic growth by tackling barriers on the local highway network that may be restricting the movement of goods and people, and it will operate in two stages. This first stage of the application process asked local authorities to submit brief expressions of interest (by 31 January 2020. Worcestershire County Council submitted two bids, one of which was for an extensive range of measures to improve transport in Evesham.

Emergency active travel fund

On 9 May 2020, the Government announced £2 billion funding for walking and cycling, with the first £250 million to be made available immediately to local authorities as an emergency active travel fund to deliver measures to tackle COVID-19. 

Details of the indicative funding allocations by local authority can be viewed at the GOV.UK - Emergency active travel fund: local transport authority allocations website.

Worcestershire County Council provisional allocation

Worcestershire County Council has been provisionally allocated a total of £1,353,000 from this fund, split into two rounds.

Bids

A bid Worcestershire: An active recovery was submitted to the Department for Transport by Worcestershire County Council on Friday, 5 June 2020 for the first round of this funding (£271,000). This bid seeks funding for measures to be implemented throughout Worcestershire, including in Evesham.

June 2019

A number of improvements have already been delivered and more are in development. Proposals can only be taken forward if they represent good value for money and if they 'work'. Consideration of whether a proposal 'works' covers such issues as:

• is it safe
• is there space to fit it
• how will it affect the functioning of the town
• how does it affect access for all

The development of some proposals has revealed that they fail these tests.

January 2019

Evesham's traffic light systems will be assessed to see if any recent technological advancements might bring efficiency improvements, as part of the ongoing scheme to improve transport in the town. Worcestershire County Council is setting up a commission to re-assess the control systems of Evesham's traffic signals.

All traffic signals detect -and respond to- the traffic that is present, but from time to time the software that controls this response is improved and the re-assessment commission will ensure that Evesham's signals are up to date and working as efficiently as possible.  This re-assessment process is the latest step in the Evesham Transport Strategy, which seeks to develop and deliver a range of measures across the short, medium and long term.

The validation work will be undertaken in the coming months, whilst previous work has already seen more than 20 improvement options tested for 'feasibility': those that passed this testing are now being assessed in the Evesham Traffic Model, and this work is scheduled to conclude in Summer 2019.

It is widely understood that many people face difficulties moving around Evesham. Congestion is the most apparent difficulty, affecting many of the town's roads and the A46 Trunk Road that skirts around the town. This leads to lengthy delays, journey-time unreliability and great frustration. The continual growth in ' travel demand' affects many parts of the UK, but it is particularly felt in Evesham with its tight network of narrow roads and limited river crossings.

Other factors must also be considered when assessing the provision for transport in a town, and these relate to the availability of transport choice, including provision for public transport (rail, taxis, community transport and buses) and active travel (walking and cycling).

Evesham Town Transport Strategy

Evesham's issues with access and congestion cannot be remedied by a simple, single solution. Instead Worcestershire County Council, in partnership with Wychavon District Council, is developing the Evesham Town Transport Strategy so as to address the town's transport problems with a measured, incremental package of schemes that considers all modes of transport.

This approach seeks to:

• assess what schemes there might be that can be delivered in the shorter term
• develop medium term schemes
• build the business case for longer term investment in larger schemes

Development of the Evesham Transport Strategy

This 'measured' approach began with a traffic survey throughout Evesham. 

Download: Report of Surveys (PDF)

Download: Report of Surveys Appendix A1 RSI survey questionnaire (PDF)

Download: Report of Surveys Appendix A2 Observed Counts at RSI sites graphs (PDF)

Download: Report of Surveys Appendix A2 Observed Counts at RSI sites graphs (PDF)

Download: Report of Surveys Appendix C2 MCC LV 15 min Interval (PDF)

Download: Report of Surveys Appendix C3 MCC counts at RSI Locations (PDF)

The next step was the creation of a computer-based traffic model of Evesham's road network. The model is founded on the results from the traffic survey to ensure that it properly reflects how Evesham's roads function.

Worcestershire County Council had a large number of proposals for improving transport in Evesham: some from Worcestershire's Local Transport Plan fourth edition and many kindly shared by residents of Evesham. Whilst the model was being finalised, Worcestershire County Council commissioned a Pre-Feasibility study to assess which of these proposals could work on Evesham's roads. The results of this study are now available:

Download: Summary Report of Pre Feasibility Option Testing (PDF)

Download: The full independent Pre Feasibility Option Testing Report (PDF)

Next steps

The results from that Pre-Feasibility study determined which proposals to now test in the traffic model. The initial aim of this work is to develop a number of schemes that can be delivered in the short term to help ease traffic flows in Evesham (within the constraints of the town's existing road network and the traffic demand placed on it).

Finally, Worcestershire County Council is working in partnership with Highways England (the body that manages the A46), to support two projects that could see the trunk road improved in the vicinity of Evesham. The first project is the development of a funding bid that, if successful, would see the junctions around Evesham improved (in order to ease congestion) by 2021. The second is an investigation into the 'whole corridor' of the A46, to assess how it performs as part of the nation's Strategic Road Network: Worcestershire County Council is supporting this investigation and is making the case for Evesham to be a focus for any improvements that might be proposed.

Liaison and information sharing

A stakeholder group has been set-up to ensure that there is good communication between representatives of Evesham and the two Councils. The stakeholder group consists of Evesham's representative bodies: Worcestershire County Councillors, Wychavon District Councillors, Evesham Town Council, VECTA, Vale of Evesham Civic Society, the Ramblers and Cycle Evesham Vale.

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 16 June 2020 (PDF)

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 9 April 2020 (PDF)

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 3 December 2019 (PDF)

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 6 November 2018 (PDF)

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 17 July 2018 (PDF)

Download: Evesham Transport Stakeholder Group Meeting Notes 11 June 2018 (PDF)

Download: The terms of reference for the stakeholder group (PDF)

This website will be updated whenever packages of work conclude and the two Councils will look to hold public events at key points throughout the development of the Strategy.

Further information

For further information about the Evesham Transport Strategy please see:

Download: Update on proposals that won't be progressed further (PDF)

Download: Update on proposals delivered or in development (PDF)

In the last few years, the following work has been completed:

Avon Street one-way trial

The trial the short stretch of two-way, flowing away from the High Street, to one-way. By removing the emerging traffic from Avon Street to the High Street, we can allow more green time for traffic using the High Street north-south axis. 

An “experimental traffic regulation order”, backed by consultation with the Chief Constable, District Council and official freight associations, enabled the trial to be put in place on 24 May 2020.

The trial is now complete and following review of the traffic flow data and feedback received during the experiment, the decision has been taken to revert back to the original layout.

Port Street

The scheme completed in Autumn 2021 comprised of the upgrade of the existing traffic signal infrastructure at the Port St and Waterside Junction. The signal equipment controlled by MOVA provides capacity improvements to relieve congestion in the area. 

The existing uncontrolled crossing was upgraded to a two-stage pedestrian crossing, which will promote walking by providing safer crossing facilities into the town centre.

For more information about this work, please see our Port Street Town Improvements page.

Evesham riverside (upgrade and resurfacing)

New cycle link to form new walking and cycling link to the proposed bridge over the River Avon.

Abbey Road and Cheltenham Road junction (Pershore Road arm)

The original double yellow lines were repainted, and the restriction on parking were extended further along Pershore Road (with single yellow lines), to prevent parked cars from reducing the efficiency of the left-turn/right-turn queuing at the junction.

High Street

Box junctions were painted at all the side-road turns to prevent exit blocking, which hinders free-flowing traffic

A4184 Greenhill and Worcester Road junction

Double yellow lines extended along Worcester Road to improve traffic flow towards the West. Further improvements to this junction will depend on the success of the Avon Street one-way experiment

Pedestrian crossing on High Street

The time given to traffic before the signals can revert to the pedestrian phase (‘green man’) has been extended.

Pedestrian crossings on Vine Street

The time given to traffic before the signals can revert to the pedestrian phase (‘green man’) has been extended.

Cheltenham Road and Davies Road junction

Pedestrian detection has been added to the Davies Road arm of the junction. This detection (which was already in place on the Cheltenham Road arms of the junction) senses when pedestrians have cleared the crossing, allowing the signals to change safely and efficiently.

New traffic signal technology

New traffic signal control equipment has been installed: the new equipment is more efficient than what it replaced, delivering increased capacity at the junction.

High Street Corridor 

Various signal equipment and technology has been upgraded, changing timings on pedestrian crossings to improve efficiency along this route. Whilst equipment and technology upgrades are now in place, Worcestershire County Council is waiting for traffic levels to return to near normal after the Covid-19 pandemic to validate these improvements and conclude the upgrades.

Hampton Bridge 

A Hampton walking and cycling bridge across the River Avon was identified as a requirement as part of the planning submission for the Hampton housing development to the west of the town in 2014. The bridge would provide a direct link from Hampton to the Town Centre, schools, employment and the rail station. 

More on Hampton Bridge

Common Road to the Valley 

Wychavon District Council is managing this project, which will link the town centre, via Common Road, to The Valley (retail park), utilising existing bridleways (which will be improved/ resurfaced) as well as creating new paths. It will be a mostly off-road walking and cycling link.

Smart traffic monitoring 

Capturing corridor-long, smart information will allow traffic flows to be managed more efficiently. By being able to uniquely identify buses on the town’s roads, and in turn to identify buses that are running late, this ‘corridor-long’ traffic management monitoring system will be able to help scheduled bus services meet timetable punctuality and reliability targets; having a knock-on benefit for all traffic on those key corridors.

The Street Works team now have recorded journey time route monitoring across a number of traffic sensitive locations countywide including the Abbey Bridge. This is in addition to live traffic flow monitoring. The live traffic flow monitoring allows the remote identification of problematic street works activity, the recording on key routes provides evidence for issuing permit conditions variations and/or non compliance FPN’s.

Real time information for buses

A number of possible Bus Shelter sites have been surveyed for the installation of Real Time information digital displays with seven sites now having displays installed. As well as in-shelter displays a 65 inch departure screen has been installed on Evesham High Street.

We will continue to roll out Real Time Information Infrastructure in line with Worcestershire’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) as funding is made available.  We will also continue to work with Operators to improve and increase real-time updates.

As more real-time updates are made available we will continue to explore “intelligent Traffic Light priority”.   Unfortunately, there simply isn’t room on Evesham’s road network to create corridor-long bus lanes or even localised bus priority facilities at junctions.

By enabling ‘intelligent traffic light priority’, the proposed real time information (RTI) system will be able to give priority to the corridor(s) on which it has ‘spotted’ late-running buses, helping scheduled services meet timetable punctuality and reliability targets, which in turn will help increase the attractiveness of buses as a travel choice.

The proposed RTI system is an incredibly cost-efficient alternative that works within existing road space and is much more effective than ‘dumb tag’ systems that give equal priority to all buses, regardless of whether they are running late or not

A4184 Greenhill and Worcester Road Junction

Increase length of two-lane approach coming in from West. This could be dependent on the outcome of the Avon Street trial and flow of traffic along High Street.

Abbey Bridge Junction 

Abbey Road and Pershore Road and Waterside and Cheltenham Road. A review is being undertaken to provide junction capacity improvements to relieve congestion at the busy Abbey bridge junction.

Evesham parking strategy  

Further work on parking in Evesham will be undertaken in 2023, once the outcome of the LUF2 bid has been announced via Wychavon District Council.

A46 corridor study

The Council is working in partnership with Midlands Connect on a major study of the A46 trunk road (the transport arm of the ‘Midlands Engine’, Midlands Connect has the sole objective of determining what transport infrastructure is needed to boost the region’s economy). Assessing what can be done to improve Evesham’s stretch of the road network is a priority for Midlands Connect, but any recommendations that might come from this study will necessarily take time to develop, fund and implement. Funding would need to be secured to progress options from the study.

How have suggestions from members of the public been considered?

Stakeholders representing the community in Evesham kindly shared their ideas for improving transport in Evesham, for which Worcestershire County Council was very grateful. To ensure due regard was given to these suggestions, Worcestershire County Council commissioned a consultant to assess them objectively and independently, with some of the suggestions taken forward and some proving unfeasible.

What is the Evesham Traffic Model?

This is a computer-based system, used to test various options for improving transport in Evesham. Every road, junction and traffic signal in the town is represented in the model and it is underpinned by the results of the traffic surveys, all of which ensures that the model properly reflects the transport network in Evesham.

What types of transport have been considered?

Worcestershire County Council has looked at improvements for all modes of transport, including motorised transport (e.g. car, motorbike, lorry etc.), walking, cycling and passenger transport (rail, bus, taxi, community transport).

Why can’t two-way traffic be introduced onto Mill Street?

Worcestershire County Council received several suggestions from members of the public for changes to the management of traffic flows on Mill Street, Chapel Street and Swan Lane. These suggestions varied in what they proposed for Chapel Street and Swan Lane, but all were based on the introduction of two-way traffic flow on Mill Street.

To make sure proper regard was paid to every suggestion, a technically skilled consultant was commissioned to assess the feasibility of each proposal. 

The consultant found that the principal problem with the introduction of two-way traffic flow on Mill Street is the very tight bends with very poor onwards visibility on that road (where it meets Mill Bank and where it meets Bridge Street). The introduction of two-way flow would introduce a high risk of collisions and a high risk of large vehicles that are heading in opposite directions becoming 'stuck'.

Unfortunately, the problems associated with introducing two-way traffic flow to Mill Street have meant that it has not been possible to take forward any of the proposals that have suggested it. 

When the High Street is closed to normal traffic, such as when the Mop Fair is on, and two-way traffic is temporarily introduced on to Mill Street, temporary traffic signals are installed at the two ends of Mill Street to enforce a ‘shuttle operation’. One direction of flow is allowed whilst the opposing flow is held on a red signal. This avoids the risk arising either of collisions or of large vehicles becoming stuck, as mentioned earlier.

Why are roadworks undertaken without enough advanced warning?

All roadworks should have a valid permit in place for them to be undertaken, if not then they are being carried out illegally. The advance notice period depends on the type of works being undertaken and the lead in time is in accordance with the code of practice for street works.

Can Worcestershire County Council comment on all the development growth in the town, as this is adding to problem?

The South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) sets out a sustainable growth strategy for the town, and Worcestershire County Council works closely with Wychavon District Council (the planning authority) to mitigate the impacts of housing growth where possible.  

Has Worcestershire County Council looked at the issue of chevron parking on the High Street?

A comprehensive review of car parking has been undertaken. The chevron parking is based on users reversing into the spaces, and as modern driving habits and behaviour has changed, Worcestershire County Council will continue to monitor the situation.

Can a new crossing to be installed on the northern end of High Street?

The trees, side roads, private accesses and on-street parking don't currently allow the space for such a crossing, but the Parking Strategy might free-up some space; this will be assessed on the conclusion of that Strategy.

Why doesn’t Worcestershire County Council prohibit right turns in to Port Street Lidl?

This would not improve traffic flow since those heading east on Port Street wishing to access Lidl would be forced to 'u-turn' at the nearby roundabout, adding extra unnecessary vehicle movements to that junction.

Why doesn’t Worcestershire County Council close Cheltenham Road to through traffic, near to its junction with the A46?

The works would transfer traffic to other roads, and it would add considerable distance/time to very many journeys, both of which would exacerbate congestion. This proposal was ruled out for these reasons.

Can a 20mph limit throughout Evesham be introduced, a 20mph limit in the town centre is also an option?

A Department for Transport guidance recommends that 20mph limit schemes can be 'signed only' in locations where speeds are already low (˂24mph) and that traffic calming should be utilised where speeds exceed 24mph. Speeds on many of Evesham's outer-lying roads are likely to exceed 24mph.

Before such a limit change could be considered, there needs to be strong local support and DfT recommends that all other measures should be assessed first.

Why not add a right-turn filter signal (from Cheltenham Road ) at the Abbey Road/Waterside/Cheltenham Road/Pershore Road junction? 

This scheme on its own will not provide significant benefits at this location, as the right turning lane of Cheltenham Road is currently under used during peak hours due to congestion issues at this junction.

Why not replace the Abbey Road/Waterside/Cheltenham Road/Pershore Road junction traffic signals with a roundabout?

The costs for this scheme would be high due to the need to purchase significant amount land and property to the south of the junction in order to accommodate the required roundabout diameter for the level of traffic flow at this junction.

Can a new roundabout at the Worcester Road/Tesco entrance be considered?

The feasibility assessment did not identify any significant traffic capacity issues at this junction. Benefits are therefore likely to be low. 

Scheme costs are considered to be high due to cost associated with purchasing of land, rearranging the B&M car park and access, and also levelling out the area in order to provide the roundabout.

Consider a new roundabout to replace Cheltenham Road/Davies Road junction signals?

As confirmed by the feasibility study, the most significant obstruction to traffic flows at this junction is the queue from the Abbey Bridge/Waterside/Pershore Road/Cheltenham Road Junction. The introduction of a roundabout would also necessitate the removal of pedestrian signals, which would be highly detrimental for those walking to/from Evesham College.

Can a proposed new road to link between Common Road and the A46 be considered?

The options feasibility report assessed this option and concluded that the dis-benefits associated with this scheme would outweigh any benefits it might bring, whilst the cost would be high. An additional junction on the A46, so close to the existing roundabout, would not be tenable (for safety reasons) and it would run counter to the Midlands Connect led work on improving the A46 (which seeks to remove junctions, to the benefit of functioning of the trunk road and to the benefit of local traffic).

Can new traffic signals at the junction of Elm Road/Offenham Road be introduced?

A mini roundabout was installed at this location as part of the Orchards Housing Estate planning application conditions, this function’s well and does not need to be replaced.

High Street/Greenhill/Worcester Road junction; add a left-filter signal (on the Worcester Road arm of the junction)/ creation of more left-turning queuing capacity on the Worcester Road arm of the junction

The main issue for traffic movement out of the Worcester Road arm of this junction is the 'exit blocking' that can occur when traffic builds up on High Street. Adding a left-turn filter lane would not address this.

However, the extension of the parking restriction on Worcester Road might have freed-up enough space to create more left turn/right turn queuing capacity here and this will be assessed should the results of the one-way trial on Avon Street suggest that exit blocking has been reduced.

What has been considered to re-introduce two-way traffic in Mill Street?

• Swan Lane, Chapel Street and Mill Street all converted to two-way traffic flow, combined with a reversal of the one-way operation of Oat Street
• One-way restrictions on Swan Lane, Chapel Street and Oat Street reversed, together with the conversion of Mill Street to two way working
• Mill Street being converted to two-way working, and three mini roundabouts introduced one either end of Mill Street and a third at the junction with Mill Bank
• Mill Street being converted to two-way working, and three box-junctions introduced one either end of Mill Street and a third on the junction of High Street/ Oat Street. In addition, Rynal Place would be one-way northbound
• Mill Street converted to two-way, the one-way restrictions on Oat Street, Swan Lane and Chapel Street reversed, a new stretch of one-way introduced on High Street (between Oat Street and Swan Lane) and a right turn prohibition for traffic emerging from Oat Street onto High Street
• Mill Street converted to two-way on the stretch south of the junction with Mill Bank, new one-way restrictions imposed on Mill Bank and Conduit Hill, whilst the existing one-way restrictions on Oat Street, Chapel Street, Swan Lane and the Mill Bank to Oat Street stretch of Mill Street would all be retained. This option also includes traffic signals on the Mill Street/Bridge Street junction

These six options all propose that two-way traffic flows can be accommodated on Mill Street. The options feasibility study found that the principal problem with the introduction of two-way traffic flow on Mill Street is the very tight bends with very poor onwards visibility on that road (where it meets Mill Bank and where it meets Bridge Street).

The introduction of two-way flow would introduce a high risk of collisions and a high risk of large vehicles that are heading in opposite directions becoming stuck.

Has the conversion of Abbey Road/Vine Street/High Street/Swan Lane/Chapel Street, Mill Street, Bridge Street and Waterside to a one-way 'gyratory' been considered?

Trip distance for any kind of access to the town centre, whether for the private motorist, for HGVs servicing the town centre shops, for public transport or for cyclists would be greatly increased which would inevitably increase congestion. This alone rules-out this proposal.

Access for each of the emergency services would be significantly worsened. This too would be reason enough to rule the proposal out, as would the worsened access to any number of homes, businesses and public services, with perhaps special mention of Evesham Community Hospital, which would be in the middle of the proposed town-centre-wide gyratory.