It’s been six months since £30 million of investment was announced for the regeneration of Princess Square and the development of The Deck.
The latest round of regeneration in the town centre excited residents when it was outlined in March, but since then updates on how the work is progressing have been non-existent.
The News contacted Piper Whitlock – the architects in charge of drawing up the designs for the new areas – for an update on the plans.
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A spokesperson for Redwood Consulting got back to the News to say there were 'no updates' on the proposals six months on from their announcements.
Bracknell resident Rob Francis told the News: “Councillors were quick to talk-up the investment in Princess Square in the run-up to local elections earlier this year, but have so far failed to provide much evidence of any intention to do the work – beyond one piece of concept art in a local newsletter and what appears to be a few sample floor tiles laid outside Top Shop.
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“There are no applications for any intended work registered at BFC’s (Bracknell Forest Council) planning portal either.
“Two years on from Princess Square’s appeal being significantly reduced, after several of its key shops were relocated to fill out out the (at the time) rather empty Lexicon, there seems very little to evidence to show that Princess Square is being treated seriously as part of the town.”
Bracknell Forest Council is putting £4.5 million of its own money to develop The Deck, a move which was made in order to persuade the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership to invest in a “major refurbishment” of the land at Princess Square and to take forward work at The Deck, according to a council report.
The regeneration will see The Deck become a ‘covered public space’ which will be filled with new food and retail units, having been converted from the former Bentalls store.
A new look Princess Square will link to The Deck, and it is planned to become a ‘modern, light, bright and airy centre’.
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The development of The Deck is expected to be completed by 2022.
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