REDDITCH Council is promising that more residents will benefit from improved facilities and layout as even more garages are demolished in Matchborough.

Felton Close is the latest location to be developed under Redditch Borough Council’s public realm improvements scheme, which began in 2009.

Residents from the close were consulted on the proposals and work is set to start this week.

The demolition will make way for more car parking and landscaping of the area will be improved.

The works will begin with the removal of a number of trees and other landscaping works as currently the trees are unsuitable and hard to maintain and cut back.

It is hoped the landscaping works will reduce the amount of litter in the area and improve the safety of the area.

Following this work residents may see a fair amount of disruption as the garages are removed and the teams undertake a large amount of resurfacing of the area to develop the new parking area.

Guy Revans, head of environmental services, said: “Not only will this work help alleviate ongoing parking issues in the area it will also improve the safety and security of the area.

"Whilst the removal of trees is usually an unpopular decision, after consulting with residents living in Felton Close, it was agreed that this will complement the garage removal and improve the area for everyone in terms of parking, landscaping, maintenance and security.”

It is hoped the work will be completed before Christmas.

Felton Close is the 11th location to be visited by the borough council’s continuing programme of turning old garages, often used simply for storage as they are too small for most modern vehicles, into useful new parking spaces and other enhancements.