Windsor has had a dramatic makeover the last 18 months. When I first moved here, it was difficult to get a decent meal in the town. And the shopping was atrocious. There were some great pubs (outside the town centre) and some good pubs near the town centre. There was an appalling commercial block built right in centre which housed a small supermarket. It was a real eyesore.
But it had its appeal. The town centre wasn't crowded with shoppers just tourists. And Windsor gets a lot of tourists especially in the summer! But tourists don't really go to the supermarket or Woolworths or Daniels. So if you stepped into a shop, you almost had a little oasis.
We would quite often head off to London, Reading, Guildford or Uxbridge to do our shopping. And we never went into the town centre to do our grocery shopping. Parking was a nightmare and there was simply no reasonable selection if you were doing birthday/Christmas shopping. And there was nothing HIP about this town.
About 2 years ago planning permission was granted to tear part of it down and rebuild. Since that time, Windsor has pretty much looked like a building site.
We are nearing the end of this phase and Windsor is looking hot. The new centre opens mid-October although a couple shops are open now. They've doubled the cost of parking in the multi-story car park.
I suddenly realised now Windsor is going to be full of both shoppers and tourists. Oh No! What have we done?
2 comments:
I hope the renewal includes lots of LOCAL businesses as opposed to "chainstores." If so, you will have done a great thing!
Unfortunately, the new shops are chains but it should bring shoppers into the village which dos support numerous local businesses. And more shoppers mean less unsavoury types lurking about.
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