Risborough is stuck in a 1960s' time warp (From Bucks Free Press)

Risborough is stuck in a 1960s' time warp

8:20pm Thursday 1st May 2008 in

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AS A retailer of 25 years in Princes Risborough, it saddens me that I have had to write this letter to you today.

The reason for this letter is to alert you of the decaying state of the retail sector within Princes Risborough, namely the High Street and Duke Street.

This has been steadily growing worse now for approximately two years and if it continues I really see no future for this small market town.

The causes I believe are many but the overriding ones are simple.... charity shops and estate agents.

Now I have nothing against these shops as they provide a service within the town.

However, when a small market town such as Princes Risborough has eight or more estate agents and slightly less charity shops it becomes magnified.

In a town of let's say High Wycombe's size it isn't so pronounced because the shops in question are spread out over a wider area so it becomes less of a problem.

The bottom line is that these sort of shops whilst providing a service are ultimately not exciting enough to tempt new custom into the town and thus Princes Risborough will unfortunately gain a reputation (if not already) of being a town full of estate agents and charity shops.

One other factor is the way Princes Risborough seems to be stuck in a time warp. Its business practices seem to be stuck in the 60s.

An era where retailers would shut for lunch and shut half day on a Wednesday.

I know of some retailers that actually shut half day on a Saturday for goodness sake!

I do have some sympathy for these retailers though as Saturday afternoon in Princes Risborough can be an incredibly depressing place, it's a vicious circle because by shutting half day you are only adding to the problem.

Then again why sit in your shop for maybe one or two hours and wait for a customer when you could be doing something far more constructive?

What Risborough needs is what Henley, Marlow, Thame and Beaconsfield have done and that is to create an atmosphere where people will want to return.

This I believe is created by having more specialist shops like boutiques, gift shops, continental coffee shops and by having a market day that actually has more stalls than three or four.

The potential for Risborough is huge as the surrounding areas are incredibly affluent and so there is no reason why Princes Risborough cannot become another Beaconsfield.

You cannot blame the landlords/landladies as all they are interested in is a return on their property (even though some of the rents are ludicrous).

Princes Risborough needs to make itself more attractive to prospective businesses and in my opinion, another way to achieve this, apart from the points I have raised previously is appearance.

What are the parish council doing to help here?

Some of the outlets look tired and outdated and in some cases all that is needed is a lick of paint.

I understand that the economic climate isn't great and finances are tight but if nothing is done and Risborough continues to slowly die then we will all be out of business in the not too distant future.

Steven Aldus, Risborough Art Gallery, Duke Street, Princes Risborough