WHEN the Worcester pilgrim came this way in the 15th Century, bound for Santiago de Compostela, the area was known as the Diglis marshes, a low-lying swamp next to the River Severn.

A few hundred years later, the red-hot heat of the Industrial Revolution would transform the wilderness of willow withies and alder into a complex of canals and basins, an inland port serving the gunshops of Birmingham and the Bristol shipyards downriver.

Now, the historic, if slightly forgotten backwater is undergoing yet another transformation - this time as the Faithful City's answer to Canary Wharf. The Worcester News has been closely following this saga - and we like what we see.

From the very start of the project, the planners, architects, builders and councillors involved knew they had to get this one right. There could be no repeat of the official vandalism and design blunders of the 1950s and 60s. A more articulate, less-deferential populace would not put up with anything less than top class. There was everything to play for.

We believe that the care and thought put into this ambitious venture has paid off. Granted, the needs of the boaters have still not yet been completely resolved, but we are hopeful that the old and the new will ultimately live together in harmony. If not, then this newspaper will want to know why.

The future of Diglis looks good. We feel that the Worcester pilgrim might be inclined to agree, too.