MAJOR plans to clean up and modernise Worcester are cause for excitement.

That was the verdict of Worcester City Council leader Cllr Marc Bayliss, who was setting out the council's plans for the city in the coming months and years.

One of the top priorities, he said, is cleaning up the streets and dealing with issues such as overflowing bins and the seemingly never-ending gull problem.

He said: "Worcester is a beautiful city, but there are things the public want to see improve, so one of our top priorities is cleansing the city.

"We are going to do all we can, and have put in £500,000 to cleaning the city, with £75,000 for the bins, which will enable us to get the 'Saturday Skips' back out into the community so people can dispose of bulky goods more easily."

The plans include a drive to ensure that streets and public spaces are noticeably cleaner, with litter bins being emptied more regularly, and improvements to grass-cutting and flower displays in parks and at other sites.

The Saturday skips service will be reintroduced in some areas of the city, to make it easier for residents to get rid of bulky items.

The budget for tackling problems caused by the city’s gull population will be doubled from £30,000 to £60,000.

We previously reported how the city had been given £40 million in government funding to help improve the city.

Included in the plans is £18 million from the Future High Street Fund to revamp the area around Angel Place, £3 million from the Cultural Development Fund for the creation of a new "cultural quarter" at the Arches, and £19.6 million from the Towns Fund for a range of projects covering regeneration, transport and skills training.

Cllr Bayliss said residents should be excited by the "once in a lifetime" plans, saying: "This isn't just one part of the city, it is across the whole city.

"We have plans for the whole surrounding area of Shrub Hill Station, which will allow us to incorporate more housing within the city itself."

Looking back on the council elections, which saw the Conservatives emerge with a majority of one, Cllr Bayliss said he still hopes to work with councillors in the different parties when making decisions.

He said: "Even though we have a majority, we are still looking across the aisle and trying to build consensus with Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems.

"We are in a committee system, so all parties have an input, and I certainly would not like to see that end.

"I never fail to be excited by Worcester as a place and as a city.

"It is big enough to be important and small enough to still care, being a microcosm of the country in its demographics.

"When we won £3 million from the Cultural Development Fund, we could never have dreamed of having £40 million to improve the city."