Volunteers at a charity shop in High Wycombe believe it is ‘too early to say’ whether or not Primark’s move into the Eden Centre will harm their trade, but they do believe it ‘will have an impact’.

Cancer Research, which sits on Church Street, had been situated directly opposite the Irish superstore for 16 years, until the latter moved into premises on September 11.

Sections of Church Street, neighbouring Castle Street and Frogmoor would be busy, largely down to the high volume of customers the store attracted.

But with Primark now based inside the Eden Centre, there has been considerably less people in that section of town, but volunteers believe ‘they will now the impact’ within a month.

Speaking ahead of the move, one said: “Apart from when we have the market on the Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the amount of people it attracts down here is huge.

“Customers usually go past us to get to Primark so they sometimes pop in.”

Now, nearly one week later, they believe that whilst it ‘has been quieter’, this could be down to several factors.

One unpaid worker said: “We didn’t do too badly on Saturday but I noticed it has been a bit quieter.

“We were closed for a few days since Primark moved, so we can’t really say but I think it will have an impact.

“There might be several factors as to why people weren’t down here – it might have been the whether as some days were cold, it might have been down to when people get paid, but we’re hoping people will come down this way.

“Most of the charity shops are all based in and around this area so we’re hoping people will still head down here.”

The move comes three-and-a-half months before Christmas, and there is hope that many shops along Castle and Church Street will benefit from shoppers getting ahead of their planning for the holiday season.

Some stores are already display items for Halloween and the festive period.

The volunteer, who did not want to be named, said: “I think it will het busier during that period as people will be looking for bargains.

“It has been quieter, but a lady did come into the shop on Thursday (one day after the shop moved) with a Primark mark in their hand which is good.

“I do think it might be a bit too early to tell, as I think we’ll have to see in a round a month or so.

“That will tell us whether or not it would have a major impact.

“Also, the weather could make a huge difference too, when people get paid might make a huge difference, and whether people are doing charity shop shopping will also make a difference.”

Finally, the unpaid worker encouraged those in the area to use charity shops.

She concluded: “It’s so important.

“It will allow someone to find something that they will like at the price that they like, and for us, any penny that we could put towards research in cancers is huge.

“At the moment, we are looking at research into children and young people, so any amount of money is important.

“But with Primark moving, I believe it won’t particularly help, as I have had customers come in and say ‘we’ll pop into Primark’, have a look over there, and come back here.

“Now that it’s over in Eden, we’ll have to wait and see but we can do what we can do.”