Wycombe shops fear roadworks will impact their trade

Buckinghamshire Council began its £3.1m scheme to improve the road last week as workers cordoned off a section and began laying down a new raised kerb.

Set to be finished in March 2025, the project will enhance the layout and appearance of White Hart Street with new paving, trees, seating, planters and additional greenery.

While shops have welcomed the regeneration of one of Wycombe’s more overlooked streets, some have questioned the timing of the work in the run-up to Christmas and claim the council has not communicated with them.

Robbie Conrich, the manager of the Salvation Army store, said he was concerned after hearing proposals for deliveries to shops in the street to take place from 9am to 10am and 4pm to 5pm.

He told the Bucks Free Press: “My argument was that if you have a lot of deliveries coming for the Eden Centre between those times, you are going to get congestion. This morning, one of the dust carts got stuck. He had to go into the cul-de-sac and back out.”

Robbie is concerned at the prospect of more delivery vehicles getting wedged in White Hart Street due to the disappearance of the ‘cul-de-sac’ in front of Swan House at the Guildhall end of the road.

This section is being turned into a seating area with planters, litter bins and cycle storage, while a new raised kerb will stop vehicles going any further than the Eden Shopping Centre delivery yard behind Paddy Power.

Robbie also claimed the council told him about a two-day road closure but had not communicated with him for weeks, including about deliveries or obtaining a permit.

The Salvation Army has regular vanloads of stock dropped off at the shop, as do other businesses in White Hart Street.

Robbie said: “As they are delivering, they block this very narrow road. I don’t think they have considered what our experiences are of this turning. Before this barrier came up, they very skilfully avoided the shopfront.”

The manager claimed the council was taking Eden’s concerns onboard as it had ‘more clout’ than the individual businesses not located within the shopping centre.

He welcomed the council’s regeneration of White Hart Street, however, as well as the further pedestrianisation of the area.

Another business manager in the street, Usman Majeed of A&M Textiles, said ‘it was good’ the council was regenerating the street and that ‘businesses appreciated it’, but claimed the timing of the work was unhelpful.

He said: “Businesses are already struggling and just before Christmas, the disturbance will have a big impact on us. These months are crucial for us, especially November and December.”

The manager said barriers for the roadworks outside his family’s business were already having an impact as customers on the other side of the street ‘thought the shop was closed’.

He added: “I took pictures for social media to tell customers we are open. If we are going to be suffering, we will definitely need some sort of compensation.”

Mo, a waiter at the Vanilla Pod café on White Hart Street, also welcomed the regeneration, but said he was concerned about the impact of the work on trade.

He said: “Because the road is closed, we are very scared. It is not easy. People think we are closed.”

Rachael Matthews, the council’s deputy cabinet member for town centre regeneration said the authority was in ‘close dialogue’ with affected shops.

She said: “We wrote to and visited all local businesses before the works started and are on site every day to address any issues that are raised, so the businesses should feel free to approach us directly with any concerns they have about the impact of these works.”

The cabinet member said barriers in the street were in place for health and safety reasons but stressed that access to all shops and businesses remained.

She added: “It is, of course, a key priority that trading is not hindered particularly in the run up to Christmas. When the works are finished all businesses will still have access to their service yards.”