‘Every time I drive past it seems to have shot up a level’

9:01am Wednesday 7th June 2006

By Paul Leat

Work on the £275million retail and leisure development known as Eden is rapidly making progress. Reporter PAUL LEAT gives an update on what's been happening.

SEVEN months of construction work has seen the new Eden development in High Wycombe town centre take up a dominant position on the skyline.

The £275million retail and leisure complex has rapidly risen in the space formerly occupied by Bridge Street car park to become a focal point grabbing shoppers' attention.

Eden is being built by construction firm Multiplex in partnership with Aldersgate Investment and Wycombe District Council.

The site will offer shoppers more than 600,000 square feet of new retail and leisure space in a bid to see the town break into the top 50 shopping destinations in the UK.

More than 180 workers are working at the site and Multiplex have said the programme is on schedule to open in Spring 2008.

The shape that the new complex will take is now easier to envisage with the steelworks already in place. Work on the framework is continuing with more than half of the steel skeleton already erected that will make up the flagship four level House of Fraser.

Cllr Lesley Clarke, leader of Wycombe District Council, said: "It really is going well. Like most people every time I drive past it seems to have shot up a level."

The bus station is the most advanced aspect of the build and is set to open in August this year to replace the existing terminal.

With the opening fast approaching, the new station has been made waterproof and some of the scaffolding has come down from the front elevation to make it visible to passers-by in Bridge Street.

Elsewhere on the site the new Marks & Spencer is taking shape that will be three times the size of the existing store in Church Street. A 12-screen Cine World cinema is also being constructed to sit on top of the Marks & Spencer store.

Three of the five tower cranes that will be used for the build are now on site and working at heights of 35, 37 and 50 metres. All three cranes can be seen for several miles.

There is a current focus on the west section of Eden, adjacent to where the House of Fraser store will be, where work on the Number Ten Bowling site is continuing. Ten-pin bowlers will be able to pick from 18 lanes when it opens.

Holly McKinlay, a spokesman for Multiplex, said: "Within every area of the site an army of workmen and machines are transforming the site into one of the region's most exciting retail and leisure destinations. One which both High Wycombe residents and the local business community can feel justifiably proud of."