During a recent visit, David Leaf discovered that Slough, Berkshire, where he spent his childhood in the 1960s, has changed dramatically over the years.
He found deserted shopping streets, empty rooms, the smell of marijuana everywhere, and scary public toilets.
The town's reputation has fallen into disrepair, with a national newspaper naming it Britain's ugliest town in 2023, and last year a poll by property website Rightmove named it Britain's most miserable town.
David spoke to local people including John Hughes, 67, who has run a baked potato stall on the High Street for the past 34 years.
Mr Hughes made the shocking observation after seeing “locals doing unthinkable things in public”. “I saw a man defecating around the corner the other day, and a friend of mine who runs another food stall saw a couple having sex on the road just around the corner from Boots. I witnessed it” – and this was in broad daylight.
“There are toilets in shopping centres, but people are always urinating outside the doors. They don't seem to want to go in and no one does anything.”
This is a far cry from the thriving town of the 1960s, which boasted a bustling retail scene, including a branch of the Suter's department store. Slough now appears to be in decline, with empty shops hidden away by hoarding.
As David makes his way through the town center, escaping the pervasive smell of cannabis, he meets Ken Fletcher, a former quarryman.
A 78-year-old man expressed his disappointment with the state of the local high street, commenting: “It breaks my heart to see the high street like this because when I came here on a Saturday afternoon many years ago it was so crowded you could barely move.”It's really bad now, we're in Bracknell. I want to go to a place like that. That's a good shopping center. ”
According to the Daily Mail, Slough continues to fight homelessness and crime.
The town saw an alarming spike in shoplifting incidents in 2024, with 1,196 incidents reported, a massive 51 percent increase over the previous year.
This has put a strain on the already stretched resources of Thames Valley Police and Slough Borough Council, particularly in 2021 when they declared bankruptcy after being found to have a disastrous £100m funding shortfall.
The prospect of major redevelopment in the heart of Slough is particularly likely as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which acquired Queensmere Shopping Center and Observatory Shopping Center in 2016, owns much of the area. Given the current situation, the outlook seems bleak. ADIA has not yet implemented the plan. The plan is to revitalize the space with new businesses, retail and housing.
Mr Hughes, owner of a local baked potato stall, said his business would be in dire straits without a dedicated customer base, adding: “Knowing the locals, we are still doing well.'' “I make a living, but I don't want to open a shop,” he said. I have something to do here now. ”
Britain's unluckiest town appears to have an important task to shed its infamous label. Reputations, like the lingering smell of cannabis in town centres, are stubborn and take time to dissipate.
