5:07am Sunday 14th March 2010
By ivor
Was it really two years ago that I went to see the opening of the complex?
I still remember the outrage caused by the semi-naked dancers who performed at the opening ceremony not to mention the disappointment on the faces of some people when they saw what the centre was like.
With no doors and a leaky roof the people of Wycombe expected more.
The centre opened with many units empty and boarded up. Most of the shops that were open had moved from other parts of town. The trail of empty retail units left in other parts of town still blights Wycombe to this day.
A few months after opening the worst recession in living memory gripped the country and a shiny new shopping centre that increased retail space was last thing our town needed.
Towering over nearby buildings like the grim reaper the complex was arguably one of the worst things to happen to our town in years.
It wouldn't be so bad if the place gave a nice shopping experience but the wind and rain that blights the covered mall is a major turn off for many people.
So what has happened in the past two years?
Well, amazingly some units are still waiting to be let. Boarded up for two years they stand like an albatross around the neck of the infernal place.
In the rush to fill the units they have even let in shops selling unmentionables. So much for a family shopping experience.
In the High Street the "For Sale" and "To Let" boards hang like a noose around perfectly good retail units that once echoed to the hustle and bustle of shoppers and ringing tills.
Let's face it Wycombe did not need a new shopping centre.
A few months later the library moved however the old library building in Queen Victoria Road still stands vacant to this very day like a zombie watching over the Council offices opposite as a reminder of the mistakes of the past.
Sadly some of the new businesses that did arrive have already failed.
Take the restaurant that used to be in the funny oval shaped building by the new library. Sadly it has closed. No doubt other businesses may close in the future. In time I fear the whole she bang will falter and fall like a house of cards.
So did Wycombe benefit from the complex?
Well, I think not. So far I have yet to buy anything from any of the shops there and what's more the skyline and architecture of our historic market town has been ruined by the overbearing building.
I look at it like this. If the complex is so good why not build one in Marlow or Princes Risborough?
Two years after opening the complex is still a divisive issue in Wycombe.
There may be those who think it was the best thing since sliced bread but there are many, many more people who look back and say it was a mistake. In my opinion the day the complex opened was the day Wycombe died.
What do you think?
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