Aylesbury Waterside Scheme

I have been very preoccupied recently with the plans for the new Waterside scheme in Aylesbury, which is causing a good deal of local controversy, mainly expressed through the pages of the Bucks Herald.
There are undoubtedly some good aspects of the scheme: notably, the improvement and opening up of the area around the canal basin and the Bear Brook, and the plans for the new
Theatre which looks great.
However, there are some justified concerns being expressed about the new shopping centre planned as an extension to the existing Hale Leys Centre, with the feeling that the plans that have been put forward by Warner Estates show little appreciation of the surrounding architecture and environment of the Exchange Street / Civic Centre area. There is regret for the loss of the horse chestnut trees and green space in front of the Civic Centre car park.
There is also a concern about the size and location of the proposed new supermarket on the south side of Exchange Street, and some questioning over whether Aylesbury really needs an additional supermarket at all.
I waded into the debate with a letter to the Bucks Herald, which the paper gave the rather misleading heading ' Waterside Plan will improve town'. This is not what I said, although I very much hope that the plan will improve Aylesbury. I said that the plan was designed to generate profits for both the council and the developers ( in response to a suggestion that it was an exercise in municipal socialism) , that the discussions over the details of the scheme were still going on, and that I hoped that those discussions will result in a scheme which is financially sound, and environmentally and architecturally sensitive.
2 points to emphasise: the development plans have not yet been formally proposed, so nothing has been decided as yet. Also, it is necessary to view the scheme as a whole and not just one element of it.
I am still optimistic, and hope that the council will take note of the very valid concerns which have been expressed about aspects of the plan.