Well, it is here at last. As I write this the launch day for our new town centre is coming to an end.

After years of demolition and re-construction (and many more years of planning) we now have a brand new shopping complex.

The reactions of those who have experienced it already have almost without exception been favourable.

This new start for the town promises great times ahead for shoppers, for those who like to eat out and those who seek the entertainment that this re-generation will provide.

We do really have something of which we can be proud. But there will be those who look back to ‘the good old days’ when Bracknell was a small market town.

I have some sympathy with that point of view as my own memories of the town go back almost 60 years.

But we move on. It is good to be able to treasure fond memories of our earlier lives – they have after all made us what we are today.

However, we also need to look forward to the future, to regard each day as an opportunity for a new start.

Just like our new town centre we can also start afresh, put behind us those things which have held us back –and look forward to a bright future.