HOUSE of Fraser, the biggest store in Eden, is now a gleaming empty shell with hundreds of shelves waiting to be stocked. The four-storey department store will become the highest spec branch in its chain when it - and Eden's 105 other shops and restaurants - open their doors on March 13.

Jillian Staniforth, store manager, said: "This is somewhere where you can really treat yourself. We want this store to feel like somewhere that you can come with friends."

There are also two cafes for customers to unwind - a Cafe Nero on the ground floor and a Cafe Zest licensed bar on the top floor with an outdoor balcony giving panoramic south-facing views over High Wycombe.

Elsewhere, the complex is still very much a building site, with hundreds of workers busily laying paving on the expansive open-air streetscapes covered by a waterproof canopy. Multiplex bosses say work is on track to be completed on time. With seven weeks to go before opening, just 12 of the shop spaces remain unlet.

*STUART Newmans has been appointed sole agent to sell the 35 one and two bedroomed flats being built by Multiplex as part of the Eden Centre development. No prices have been fixed yet, said agency partner Roger Barrett this week.

A further 13 flats have been allocated for affordable housing.

* TESCO plans to transform its High Wycombe branch into a department style store - the first step in a move to start competing on Britain's high streets.

The supermarket giant revealed this week it will shift from its traditional out-of-town sites to multiple-storey buildings in town centres selling fashion, perfume, jewellery and toys alongside food.

The news will come as a blow to rival retailer Marks & Spencer, which has a large new store and foodhall in Eden.