Bid for £9m to improve Worcester Racecourse

A number of improvements are planned for Worcester Racecourse

The government is being asked for £9m to create a new riverside venue and rooftop bar at Worcester Racecourse.

Worcester City Council is seeking the "levelling up" money to modernise the facilities, extend the grandstand and make it capable of hosting larger events.

The riverside cafe and function room could be used for weddings and parties it said.

It is part of a £20m bid for funding to improve the city.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the work on the racecourse would create a "greener" grandstand and that improvements to the main racecourse entrance should help when the racecourse floods.

The council is also seeking money to improve facilities at Nunnery Wood Sports Centre and to carry out £10m of work on the former Engine Works building in Shrub Hill Road.

It would be turned into work and office space, and the council also plans to carry out work to create a bigger and improved Worcester Museum and Art Gallery in Foregate Street.

It is expecting to hear in the autumn if its bid has been successful.

A report commissioned by the council has found that Worcester is lagging far behind other cathedral cities such as Gloucester, Lincoln and Exeter when it comes to the number of visitors, LDRS said.