AMID plenty of pomp and circumstance, Farnham's Millennium Centre was formally opened last week by Virginia Bottomley MP.

But the celebrations last Friday were tinged with sadness because of the absence of the centre's designer, architect John Monk, who died earlier in the month.

Guests at the grand opening of the centre, off West Street, paid tribute to Mr Monk, who will be remembered by a plaque dedicating the site to his memory at a later date.

His business partner at Farnham's Haworth King Partnership said: "We have got two things to celebrate here today - the life of John Monk and the opening of this centre. I think it is a wonderful dedication to John."

Colin Knight, a director of Farnham Estates who own the centre, said: "I lost a dear friend in John Monk. He was a great architect and I think this development bears witness to that.

"This was John Monk's baby from conception to completion and he worked seven days a week on it to make sure it was finished on time."

Two of the Millennium Centre's four buildings have already been occupied, one by Merlin Investments and the other by FT International.

And, while the two smaller buildings have already been taken, Mr Knight said there has been a great deal of interest in the other two buildings which measures 8,100 square feet and 16,115 square feet.

Farnham Estates director Robert Lewis told The Herald that the buildings are very "hi-tech", each boasting underground parking, lifts, kitchen facilities, male and female toilets and air-conditioning throughout.

The grand opening ceremony featured around 80 invited guests, including business and civic leaders, who enjoyed a champagne reception complete with a string quartet.

Mr Lewis said: "It is a very modern development - all the roof slates are real slate and not imitation slate and all the brick walls are real brick, not imitation. It has been the first speculative development in this part of the country.

"The Millennium Centre has been the culmination of a team effort and we must offer our sincere thanks to a great many people."

The first shovel of earth in the construction of the centre was moved in June last year and the first business to use one of the buildings, FT International, moved into their offices at the end of May this year.

Unveiling a plaque in the smaller of the two vacant buildings, Farnham MP Mrs Bottomley also praised the work of John Monk and said that to make a mark on a town in the way Mr Monk had done was "quite something".

She added that she was delighted with the development, which will bring some 300 new jobs into Farnham.

She said: "When I visited this site when it was the Crosby site, I remember the misery and disappointment when it was closed.

"Who would have believed that we would be here celebrating this new building, which will bring more jobs to the town than there were on the original site?

"Farnham has that special character that allows it to act as a community, which it has done for the last 8,000 years.

"It grew out of the natural materials such as gravel and clay and this centre is a focal point, a crossroads as we look forward to the new millennium."