A vision to transform an area of Worcester's industrial heritage into a thriving commercial development, including 300 homes plus pubs and restaurants, was unveiled 17 years ago.

Now this dream has grown beyond those initial plan into something altogether more ambitious. From a backwater which people rarely passed, consisting of largely empty factories and unappealing moorings, Diglis Basin is rising like a phoenix from the ashes.

With a three or four-star hotel, cafés and restaurants and about 1,000 new homes as well as parks, a gymnasium and riverside improvements, Diglis, along with nearby Sidbury, has become the focus of national attention for this ground-breaking project in waterside regeneration.

The development, which is rapidly transforming this stubbornly run-down area of Worcester, is the result of close working between developers Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Homes, who are simultaneously developing the area in close consultation with Worcester City Council.

Worcester City Council planning officer Jim Pithouse described the development - which recently won two awards at the British Urban Regeneration Association Waterways Renaissance Awards - as "a flagship development in many ways".

He said: "There are some individual houses in Worcester built in this modern way but on the whole housebuilding tends to be in the traditional approach. This development is much more on the scale of TV's Grand Designs. There is a lot of attention being given to the setting of the buildings and the quality of landscaping, with the size of trees, quality of materials and detail of public places."

The whole scheme has been a long time coming, requiring meticulous planning to ensure it is suitable to become part of Worcester's heritage.

After unveiling the initial proposal back in 1991, British Waterways was "on the verge" of submitting plans to the council after talks with developers Ü Ü but there was another two-year delay before the final draft was submitted.

The city council gave outline approval for phase one of the scheme, for 421 homes and a link road. In 2005 phase two was approved, which included 30 affordable homes, and work finally began on an L-shaped three-storey waterside development overlooking Diglis Basin in 2006. Last year, people finally began to move into their brand-new apartments while phase two got under way to demolish the old Royal Worcester Porcelain site.

Existing buildings such as the old chemical factory on Basin Road next to the lock are also being transformed into homes now work has just begun on phase three of the project, which will see hundreds more flats and houses built off Diglis Dock Road and Basin Road over the coming months.

Homes along the riverfront by Severn Way, where the urban park will be located, will be built off the ground to prevent flood damage.

On the old Worcester Porcelain site about 400 homes will be built along the stretch of canal running from Sidbury to Diglis Dock. There is also planning permission here for a café and a three or four-star hotel, such as a Hilton, to be built opposite the Commandery.

All this is being planned with the intention of bringing more people to Diglis, but it will no doubt have a positive knock-on effect for Sidbury itself, too.

Already a thriving little community of small shops, cafés and, of course, the prestigious Glasshouse restaurant, Sidbury looks set to become a great base for tourists wanting to explore Worcester.

Mr Pithouse said: "That combination of Diglis and what Berkeley Homes is developing on the other side of the canal will significantly affect the uplift of the city centre and will hopefully attract a lot of people to use it. That is why the city council is putting money into upgrading the paths down by the river all the way from the bridge to that area."

This pathway will be made out of blue crushed glass to form a "stream" effect from the edge of Basin Road to the dock, with wooden panels, brickwork and trees lining the streets.

Looking at the development now and the artist's impressions of the regeneration, it looks like Worcester, and in particular Diglis and Sidbury, will be turning heads on a national scale and making its mark with this ambitious and exciting project.

Mr Pithouse added: "It's a big step forward for Worcester. It's a new area that's almost emerged from nowhere but its what regeneration is all about. It's not just building on a field on the outskirts of the city - it's taking an area in the city centre and quite significantly making it attractive but around a traditional setting.

9:40am Wednesday 9th April 2008

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