Tewkesbury town is to benefit from improved pedestrian signage and trail markers.

From today (Monday), Tewkesbury town centre residents and visitors will see works begin to improve pedestrian wayfinding fingerposts, maps and riverside trail markers. The enhancement project will cover the whole of the town centre.

The refresh will make it easier for people to find their way around, judge walking times, locate key destinations and enjoy historic trails through the town.

The £155,000 project is funded as part of Tewkesbury's High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ), a partnership between Tewkesbury Borough Council and Historic England to invest £1m in the regeneration of the historic town centre.

Fifteen new fingerposts will replace the existing directional signs. Visitors and residents will also see the new addition of walking times to the nearby town centre, with its independent shops and the many hospitality venues that are only a stone's throw from the Tewkesbury Abbey, waterside and Severn Ham Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSI).

Each of the maps around the town centre shows walking times and a clear you-are-here marker with maps in all the car parks covering a wider area. The maps also show the routes of the Riverside Trail, the Battle Trail and the Ham walk.

Cllr Richard Stanley, leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said, "We are so proud of our historic town centre and this new scheme will help us to share our story with more visitors than ever. We want them to discover all the attractions the town has to offer. This is much more likely if they can easily find information about the town."

The visitor interpretation has been refreshed based on the original designs to allow new panels to be installed in the existing hardware and ensures a consistent theme across the town.

The new totems carrying the visitor information add to the town's history enhancing the quantity and quality of extra mapping, which includes a new visitor lectern at Queen Margaret's Camp (near Prior's Park), adding to the Battle Trail.

Thirty new attractive, hard-wearing brass riverside trail markers will help visitors to follow the interesting and meandering route along the waterside from the Tewkesbury Abbey in the south to the Mythe bridge at the north-western edge of the town centre. These markers have been designed to withstand the effects of flooding.

Rebecca Barrett , regional director for Historic England, added: "Tewkesbury has a rich heritage that is worth taking time to discover. We are pleased to see Tewkesbury installing such a comprehensive scheme and in a contemporary design that works well in the context of the historic town centre."

This Tewkesbury's High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) project is due to be completed by the end of March and Tewkesbury HSHAZ will now focus on developing the next phase of promotion of the amazing alleyways and courts.