TRADERS in Pershore have given a cautious welcome to the reopening of the revamped High Street.

Many are pleased that the disruption was finally coming to an end but criticised the design of the £600,000 enhancement scheme.

The High Street was officially reopened on Tuesday after 15 weeks of work which included the widening of pavements and the resurfacing of the road.

The scheme caused controversy after some traders said they feared it would affect trade.

Nick Green, of Brown's Ironmongers, said: "Now the traffic lights are gone, hopefully, it will get better.I think the pavements look fantastic but I still don't think it's the right design. I think there should be more places for people to pull in to load up heavy items."

He said that the work had badly affected his takings.

Maureen Brewster, of the gift shop Avoca, thought there was still a lot of tidying up to be done. She said: "It's a great improvement in lots of ways but we've got yellow lines and white lines all over the place and it looks more like a shopping precinct than a small country town, but I must say that the pavements are a great improvement."

Worcestershire County Council contributed £430,000 to the work while Wychavon District Council paid £170,000.