ITS biggest claims to fame are that it was the setting of a hit TV show, and that it’s home to Europe’s biggest trading estate.
But fed-up residents say this Berkshire town – just a stone’s throw away from the royal castle of Windsor – is plagued by crime and drug abuse, with locals fearful to ever head into the high street after dark.
Savage arson attacks have left buildings damaged and unusable[/caption]
The bus station has still not been repaired after being targeted in 2022[/caption]
“This place is run by drug dealers,” lamented Francis Jupiter, 24, one local in Slough, who is moving away in December.
“I want to get out as quickly as I can. There’s a real general sense of neglect. Nobody seems to care at all.”
The setting of comedy classic The Office, Slough has long faced an uphill battle when it comes to its reputation, having been named the ugliest town in the entire country last year by The Telegraph.
Long before this, in 1937, the celebrated poet Sir John Betjeman immortalised the town with a poem whose first lines read: “Come friendly bombs, and fall on Slough / It isn’t fit for humans now…”
But photos from decades past nonetheless show a town that was thriving, bustling with shoppers and boasting the likes of M&S and Debenhams.
It could not be more different from how things are today.
Looming over the high street, the massive Queensmere shopping centre greets the street with boarded-up windows and metal shutters.
It opened decades ago – an optimistic extension to a bustling, thriving town that now lies almost empty.
“Primark is STILL open,” says a poster on the doors, while inside, an outdated guide to all the shops that were once here reads like the names of the fallen on a war memorial.
In just a decade, the number of vacant units in the town centre has more than doubled, from 9 per cent in in 2013 up to 20 per cent in 2024, according to data from consultancy JDM Retail.
Where there are shops, many of these are discount stores, gambling shops, and vape sellers.
Life expectancy in the town is 10 years lower than what it is in the surrounding boroughs, a reflection partially of its proximity to the more upmarket towns of Windsor and Maidenhead.
‘Never come’
Pushing a pram down the high street, couple James and Sophie, both 27, stand out as some of the few young people about that day.
They’re visiting from nearby Maidenhead – but they weren’t visiting Slough out of choice, as they had to come here to register their newborn.
“We never come here if we can help it. Usually if we want to shop we’ll go to Reading or Maidenhead, not here” said James.
It’s also the first time they’d visited the town in years – and the decline was noticeable.
Slough in Berkshire has been described as the UK’s ugliest town[/caption]
The town’s central shopping centre is now almost derelict[/caption]
Only a handful of shops remain open inside[/caption]
James and Sophie plan to never come back[/caption]
He added: “The last time we came here was 15 years ago. It’s really disappointing to see what happened to the town.
“We’re just here to register our baby, have a Subway, then go and never come back.”
For those who live in the town though, leaving is not an option.
“Crime’s gone through the roof in the last 15 years,” said Stephen Brown, 63, who has lived in Slough all his life.
Stephen worked as a heating ventilation installer, before a car crash a decade ago left him forced to use a mobility scooter to get around.
They were having sex with a prostitute outside my gate, in broad daylight…it was really bad
Stephen Brown
“There’s prostitution, there’s drugs, and girls won’t ever come into the centre.
“All you smell is weed, stinking out the whole place. In my lifetime, this is the lowest it’s ever been.”
Daylight abuse
Stephen lives just a short walk away from the high street, where an alleyway provided his only route to the shops.
But he wasn’t the only one making use of it.
“People had used it as a toilet, used it to do drugs,” Stephen said.
“I wasn’t able to take my dog along there because there were needles all over the ground. The worst thing was when they had a mattress down there, and they were having sex with a prostitute outside my gate, in broad daylight. It was really bad.
Stephen Brown, 63, was attacked by a gang of yobs[/caption]
“They’ve put gates there now, so it’s a lot better but they still congregate – the problem’s moved, but it’s still in Slough.
“It’s why no girls, nor me, come out after dark in Slough because you will get harassed. It’s terrible.”
Not far from the alley, a superstore car park has become a haunt for those suffering from drug addiction, with dealers keeping them hooked on their supply.
Stephen has himself become a victim of thugs that haunt this part of town.
“I was just popping to get some milk on my mobility scooter, and there were four lads on the corner,” he said.
“They pushed me off, and gave me a few kicks on the ground while laughing and joking around. One of them even went on my scooter and rode it up and down the street.”
Slough has gone right downhill. They’ve put no money into it
Noel Dowling
Unable to get back on, Stephen was stuck on the ground, leaving the gang free to rob him of his phone, wallet and bag – all of which he had been keeping in his basket on the front.
“I never bring any money out with me now. And this has happened not once, but nearly four times,” he added.
“That was the worst occasion, because they really gave me a kicking. But I’ve been spat on and everything.”
Crime terror
Stephen has long been aware of the problems in the town, even telling how the daughter of a friend, who he declined to name, had been abused in a grooming gang.
“It’s awful what’s happened here,” Stephen said, adding that the girl is still psychologically traumatised from what happened.
Offices in the town lie empty[/caption]
Roads in the town are blighted with rubbish and debris[/caption]
Noel Dowling, 69, has seen the town’s decline first-hand[/caption]
And he is far from the only one to express fears about crime.
When we asked Roy, 72, what he thought of the town, he gestured to the run-down high street with a laugh.
“Take a look – it’s dirty,” he said.
“Then you’ve got the drugs. You can always see it going on around the town – you see the runners doing their bit.”
I wouldn’t even dare to come here in the evening after 7pm
Natalia
As he spoke, the smell of cannabis wafted by, while groups of men lurched from one end of the high street to the other.
Roy added: “In the daytime, you see so many men just wandering around. Why aren’t they working? They can’t all be on nights.”
Ravaged by arsonists
Others took little persuasion to open up about their despair over the town’s decline.
“Slough has gone right downhill. They’ve put no money into it,” said Noel Dowling, 69, a retiree who used to work on the railways.
“The problem is, there’s nothing to do.”
It was a view echoed by Natalia, 49, who immigrated to the town two decades ago.
“These days all you can see is all the shops and businesses closing. It’s like a ghost town now,” she said.
“Crime is really bad too. It’s quite scary at night. I wouldn’t even dare to come here in the evening after 7pm.”
Stores that housed major retailers like Debenhams and M&S lie empty[/caption]
Ricky Sadhu, 33, thinks the town has potential[/caption]
In other corners of town, the work of arsonists was clearly visible, with buildings still covered in soot from the flames.
Even the town’s modern bus station, an architectural marvel of curving metal, was torched back in 2022 – but wrangling over insurance payouts have meant it’s still not back in operation.
Instead, it now stands fenced-off with holes in the structure still not patched up.
Just off the high street, arsonists had also set fire to a car in the entrance of a block of flats only a few days ago.
I think the main problem with Slough at the moment is the broken-down high street…but I’m optimistic
Mayor of Slough, Siobhan Dauti
But 33-year-old Ricky Sadhu, who was on a waking watch outside, remained optimistic.
“I can’t deny there are teething problems – problems with homelessness and things like that are quite big,” he said.
“But it’s a good area. And there’s a lot of potential.”
Regeneration optimism
With fast and frequent trains into London, developers have been eyeing up Slough as a potential goldmine.
Hundreds of new flats have been built in recent years, while derelict chasms of rough ground in the town centre are fenced off with boards advertising the swanky properties that will soon be built there.
Nearby the train station, the former Horlicks factory, formerly one of the town’s major employers, is now home to thousands of new flats.
Whether the new residents choose to spend their money in the town remains to be seen, however.
Slough’s Mayor, Siobhan Dauti, is optimistic that regeneration can save the town centre[/caption]
Asim Gul, 26, admires the townfolk’s community spirit[/caption]
The former Horlicks factory has been redeveloped into upmarket flats[/caption]
“There used to be a time, when I was a kid, when people would come in from Staines and Uxbridge to do their shopping here. You could spend all day in the town,” said Siobhan Dauti, Slough’s mayor.
“We’ve got easy connections to Heathrow, and to central London. But do they bring anyone here?”
Slough born and bred, she, like other locals, didn’t shy away from admitting that the town had problems.
But she was hopeful for the future. As it stands, there are plans to demolish the old shopping centre and replace it with thousands of homes and new businesses.
The infrastructure problems, that’s not down to the people – that’s down to the council, and the government
Tanwar
“There are a lot of the usual problems that you’ll find in any other area – the drugs, the homelessness – but that happens everywhere,” she added.
“I think the main problem with Slough at the moment is the broken down high street – but that’s undergoing rejuvenation. I’m optimistic.”
Council woes
Asim Gul, 26, was also positive. Though he’d seen homelessness, he was proud to be part of a community that helped each other out.
“I’ve seen it,” he said. “But it’s everywhere – and local trusts help them out with food, with renting, and with dealing with the council.”
Customer sales executive Tanwar, 52, was also clear about how he felt about the town he’d been born in.
“I love Slough,” he said.
Tanwar, 53, is proud of the town he’s from[/caption]
Dylan Lucas, 24, was on his first day of the job in Slough[/caption]
Jason Rodger, 36, noted the stark difference between Slough and Windsor[/caption]
“The infrastructure problems, that’s not down to the people – that’s down to the council, and the Government.
“The high street is crap, yeah – but that’s down to a lack of investment.”
What the council had invested in, however, had ended up costing everyone.
In 2021, it was declared effectively bankrupt after betting £96million on commercial property investments around the country before the pandemic.
Saddled with debt to the tune of £760million, an independent review assessed that the then Labour-run council had presided over “several years of mismanagement.”
Elsewhere, Dylan Lucas, 24, was in Slough for his first day working for an estate agency.
“Windsor is a lot better,” he said, adding that for young people in particular there just wasn’t a lot to do.
“It’s a a bit dangerous round here at night too.”
Jason Rodger, 36, who is unemployed, echoed these thoughts.
“There’s some very unusual characters about. Windsor’s completely different – it’s maybe only three or so miles away, but the difference is stark.
“I like Slough – you get the mixture of different cultures, and different people,” he added. “But everything’s gone to pot here. And I don’t know why.”
