Our town was made famous by iconic BBC comedy – it’s been called the ‘most desirable’ area but we’re struggling
RESIDENTS living in a town made famous by a TV show have hit back at claims their area is the UK’s “most desirable”.
Slough, Berks, was put on the map by iconic BBC comedy The Office.
Slough featured as the home of Wernham Hogg paper company in the smash comedy created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
But despite being the butt of “dull suburbia” jokes, it’s now reportedly the place to be for Brits who like easy commuting, cheap homes, and good schools and parks.
A Telegraph survey – which 3.6million people took part in – offered Slough as one of the top spots for more than 3.3m people.
But locals scoffed at the idea when spoken to by The Sun.
They say their high street is becoming emptier by the month – and they’re forced to travel elsewhere if they’d like to shop.
Robert Baylis, 42, raved about the town’s outdoor spaces and transport, but it wasn’t all rosy.
The dad who lives in nearby Old Windsor told The Sun: “There’s some great parks to go to… but the town centre is rubbish.
“You’ve got Windsor on the doorstep, so there’s a lot more variety of shops there.”
When resident Edna Drew, 77, was told of Slough’s top slot in the quiz she said: “You’re joking, everything is closing down.
“It’s getting worse, they’re just closing down stuff and the council are doing nothing about it, the pound shops are even closing down.
“There are parts that are good, parts that are bad, it’s the same as any other town with shops closing down.”
Cynthia McDonald, 74, echoed Edna’s concerns.
The woman, who has called Slough home since 1962, said: “It was the best community once ago, but not now.
“Everything changed. The high street used to be a brilliant high street, you could pick and choose any street to find shopping.
“But now it’s nothing, it’s like a ghost town.”
Steve Richardson, 58, lives in nearby Reading but commutes into Slough to work at the train station.
He said: “The thing that’s changed is the major retailers leaving the high street. That’s not done the town any favours.
“When I walk down the high street and I see a second-hand shop, then a bookies, then an amusements, then a second-hand clothing shop it reminds me more of a depressed northern town like Rotherham, than suburban London.”
The metrics used in The Telegraph analysis were: travel times, house prices, annual and daily transport costs, proximity to outstanding primary and secondary schools, green spaces, train overcrowding, distance from the coast and the number of pubs and restaurants within two kilometres of the station.
Other London commuter towns that scored highly were Essex’s Chelmsford and Chatham in Kent.