Compulsory purchase orders could be used to secure the land needed to build a new walking and cycling route.

Work on the project, which will link Worcester city centre with Shrub Hill, is due to start in May.

It forms part of the wider regeneration of Shrub Hill Quarter, a collaboration between the city and county councils following a £10m government Towns Fund grant.

Kevin Moore, the city council’s head of property and asset management, said a design for the scheme had been finalised and was being priced by the contractor.

He told a place and economic development committee on Monday: “Our solicitors are lined up to serve the necessary notices under the compulsory purchase order to secure the possession of the land and enable the start of the scheme.

“Discussions continue with all the landowners there to sort out the details of land acquisition and compensation by agreement, but compulsory purchase is there as a backup.”

The project is due to be completed in March 2026 and will see a pathway created from Pheasant Street, over the canal and up to the railway station following the line of Cromwell Street.

The first phase of the Shrub Hill Quarter regeneration also includes the refurbishment of former NHS office building Isaac Maddox House into an enterprise hub.

Future phases could see the building of three and four-bedroom homes.