SHOPPERS in High Wycombe will have noticed a large colourful arch being constructed over the High Street ahead of a Mayoral procession.

Buckinghamshire New University students have been busy bringing their Mayoral Arch design to life this week ahead of the grand unveiling tomorrow.

Dignitaries will pass underneath the eye-catching arch before heading to BNU to view an exhibition of students’ designs and historical chair arches of the past.

Entertainment will also be on show in and around the town centre.

Residents are invited to donate cash or a can of food in return for leaving a message on a remembrance wall for loved ones lost, linking Mayor Trevor Snaith’s charities for the year, One Can Trust and the Child Bereavement Fund.

Mayor Snaith said: “I encourage as many people as possible to come along and have a look at the arch when it is completed and be there for the unveiling of a hugely worthwhile project I feel will put High Wycombe on the map."

While the arch is only currently scheduled to stand for two weeks, talks are underway to have it reconstructed outside BNU’s Gateway building.

Organiser of the project Amanda Dobbs said: “We are really excited about the arch, it has been ten months in the making.

“We are currently talking with BNU about taking it down and having it reassembled at the university’s campus, to give the project longevity.

“It could be up for about a year, which would bring a bit of a feel good factor to the town and also the university as it is their students’ work.”

The procession beings at WDC’s headquarters in Queen Victoria Road from about 10.30am before the ceremony at the arch at 11am.