A ROW of shops will undergo a major regeneration project according to plans put forward by landowners Fortis Living.

The Rose Avenue shops, in Tolladine, will be revamped with four new retail units with apartments above on one side of the road, and four houses on the other.

The plan has been put forward by Fortis, a developer of affordable homes.

The regeneration project is valued at £1,700,000 according to the website of Fellows', which has been appointed consultants for the project.

Currently at the site are eight units, although three of these are vacant including the Italian Job takeaway that closed earlier this year.

One of the units at the site is the Worcester Angling Centre.

Owner, Gary Hickton, has told the Worcester News the business was given six months notice to leave the site earlier this year, so he has arranged to move the business to a unit in Brickfields Road, in October.

"We don't have a date for the last day of trading here," Mr Hickton said.

"We will aim to make the move over a weekend to avoid disruption for our customers, who will come with us.

"We have been aware of it - this has been a long standing plan.

"Fortis has been professional, although they could have been more helpful at times."

The Worcester News understands some of the existing units, including the News Express shop and Post Office, and Rose Avenue Fryer chip shop could be taken up by the new retail units once built, however Fortis Living has not confirmed the units have been offered to them.

On its Facebook site another of the current tenants, New Hope 50p charity shop, has posted: "We have some good news - we are not closing down.

"We will remain open in Tolladine until the refurbishment of the area begins.

"Thank you for your continued support, we appreciate it."

There are also concerns over the future of the playground, next to the shops.

One resident said there were rumours this playground would be built on as part of the scheme, adding it would be a shame as it was popular with families.

But on an aerial view of the proposed regeneration site on Fellows' website, the playground is outside the proposed site's boundary.

A Fortis Living spokesman said an application for the site had not yet been submitted to the city council's planning team, adding Tolladine residents had responded positively to the scheme during a consultation meeting.

The spokesman said everything was still at pre-planning stage, with no proposed dates for a demolition and to build the units and properties.