Opinion : Once Wycombe was know for furniture, now it’s becoming known for TERROR

There was a time, many years ago now, when High Wycombe was know throughout the nation for the furniture industry which was the power house of the local economy.

Sadly in recent years it seems Wycombe is becoming known for all the wrong things.

Back in 2006 Wycombe was in the news when police thankfully foiled a plot to detonate liquid explosives on airliners while there were in flight. Police officers swooped on houses in Wycombe, made arrests and even searched local woodland for evidence.

Recently there have been reports in the media of people from the town allegedly fighting for ISIS.

Just last week Wycombe was in the news again when anti terrorist police conducted further raids on houses in the town and made arrests.

What has Wycombe come to?

What will the watching world think of our town when they turn on their televisions and see Wycombe is on the news again for all the wrong reasons?

Back in 2013 Wycombe was placed ninth in the list of ‘Crap towns’. The events of last week are hardly likely to do anything to make people think better of the town are they?

It doesn’t matter how much good work is put in by people improving our town while bad press and publicity is being broadcast on TV and appearing on the front pages of newspapers.

Being placed in the ‘crap town’ list was bad enough, let’s just hope nobody starts a ‘terror town’ list or I fear Wycombe may be on that too.

Is it too late? Has the image of our town been tarnished too much for it to ever recover?

Once the bad press starts it’s very hard to shake it off. When yours truly typed ‘High Wycombe’ into Google a few days ago what came back was not positive about the town. Who would buy a house in a town in which anti-terrorist police are carrying our raids?

The bad press will put off the good people from living here and our town will be consigned to sink even further into the abyss.

I dread to think what will happen next. I sincerely hope this is the last we hear of terrorism related issues in the town and we can move on from this dreadful chapter in the history of a small market town located in the leafy county of Buckinghamshire.

What do you think?

*My next blog will be published on Friday evening around 8pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.