The final phase of Dorchester’s £1 million-plus South Street improvement is nearing completion.

Town council Policy Committee members heard that the work currently taking place outside Barclays Bank is the second phase of the resurfacing of the street which started in April last year at the southern end.

The cost of the works is being shared by West Dorset District Council with a £700,000 contribution and Dorchester Town Council which has put in more than £250,000.

Cobbled paviours are being put down outside the historic building which features in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Mayor of Casterbridge.’

A little later in the year work will start around the nearby Town Pump on a similar paved area with new seats and planters which will improve the overall look of one of the town’s well-known features.

Dorchester Town Council is now asking for seats and planters to be added to the southern end of the street as the final touches of the project. The section used to be open to traffic.

Town Clerk Adrian Stuart said: “A fair amount of money has been spent on the area and it has really taken off but there has never been any street furniture at the bottom end of the street as far as we know…we could certainly do with adding hanging baskets and planters to fit in with the rest of the street. It’s also important that the signage fits in with the rest of the street.”

He also suggested that a small number of public benches could be added at appropriate places.

Policy Committee members agree to set £10,000 aside while also asking Dorchester BID and the Dorset Waste Partnership to contribute to the scheme.

The refurbishment on the town’s main shopping street has, at times, involved road closures and traffic diversions.

* Further improvement works are also planned in the town centre – at South Gate close to the War Memorial. The plans include a specially commission sculpture by local artist Mike Chapman which should be in place before events to mark the centenary of the ending of the First World War.

Work has already taken place around the Five Ways Junction to improve pedestrian crossings, making a better link between the town centre and the Brewery Square development.