Residents are referring to Bracknell’s flagship town centre development as ‘The Wreck’ following delays in construction, shop openings, and further requests for funding. 

Officially called ‘The Deck’, the scheme represents the next phase of the development at The Lexicon, which was unveiled in 2017. 

It was initially due to open in 2022 but was pushed back after a delay in beginning the development stage, leaving residents wondering “when The Wreck will become The Deck”. 

“We were promised this years ago. Now it’s literally just a waste of space,” one resident said. 

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Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker, said the impact of Covid-19 and “wider macro-economic conditions”, particularly construction price inflation, delayed the development. 

Earlier this year, the general manager at The Lexicon, Rob Morris, said the leisure and shopping quarter is “on track” to be completed in 2023, insisting it will make the town centre the “place to be” in the evening. 

However, Bracknell Forest Council confirmed to The News that it had recently submitted a bid for round two Levelling Up funds to support the town’s “ongoing regeneration”, including development of The Deck. 

Residents have expressed surprise as they “thought it was fully funded” and questioned whether it will be ready to open next year. 

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The initial cost estimate of the scheme was £18.5M in 2020 prices, according to the council’s original business case. That later rose to an estimated £19.9M. 

Of that, £12M was to come from Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (BRP), a joint venture between Legal & General, a financial services and asset management company, and the Schroders UK investment company.  

Bracknell Forest Council are to contribute £6M towards the project, as well as £955,882 investment from the Department of Transport. 

Cllr Brunel-Walker said “all council’s” can bid for the Levelling Up funds and, although it was unsuccessful, the submission for the previous round was “widely regarded to be very strong”.

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The scheme aims to help more deprived communities by putting money directly into the hands of councils to invest in infrastructure projects that benefit the local area.   

Bracknell Forest is listed by the government as a level three priority local authority to receive money, out of three, with residents suggesting the borough “wouldn’t qualify”. 

“This seems completely unfair when there are areas of this country genuinely struggling financially. How can this council justify the waste of their and the assessors’ time and money evaluating this for a few more shops,” one remarked.  

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Others have noted the number of “vacant units” and are left wondering if the town regeneration is “all it is cut out to be”.  

Cllr Brunel-Walker insisted that the BRP will continue to support the council in progression of the project and remain committed to delivering a “strong and vibrant” town centre. 

One resident concluded that calling it ‘The Wreck’ “will catch on”.