About

Slough originally developed as a stopping-off point for coaches travelling between London and Bath. It remained as a small village until the mid-1800s and the coming of the railway - Slough quickly became a thriving town and a popular place to live, within easy reach of London and Windsor. The growth of the Trading Estate in the 20th Century means that Slough continues to be a busy, successful town.

In 1086 William the Conqueror's Domesday Book lists some of the landowners in 'Upton', but the first recorded mention of Slough was in 1196, when it was spelled 'Slo'. Most historians think that the name came from the slough or muddy land between Upton-cum-Chalvey and Eton.

St Laurence's Church in Upton is around 900 years old. Parts of Upton Court (home to the Slough Observer newspaper now) were built in 1325, while St Mary's Church in Langley was probably built in the late 11th or early 12th century, though it has been re-built and enlarged several times.

When the railway from London to the west was built. Slough Station opened in 1840, and by 1841 the population was twice the size it had been in 1831 (but it there were still only 2405 people there!) By 1891 the population was 7,700.

In the 1920s the trading estate began to develop, and people began to arrive in Slough from other parts of the country, looking for work.

After the Second World War, housing estates at Britwell and Langley were built to re-house Londoners whose homes had been destroyed in bombing raids.

Since the 1960s, Slough's employment opportunities and location have encouraged a steady stream of people from other countries or regions to settle in the town, and the population has now reached around 119,000 people.

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Strategy

We aim to have a town that is environmentally sustainable, where world-class infrastructure continues to facilitate economic success and where housing provision meets the needs of all residents. This means looking at how we live, how we travel and how we use our resources andenergy to ensure a sustainable future and create an attractive local environment for Slough.

How are we going to get there?

• The high profile Heart of Slough project and the comprehensive re-development of the town centre will help create a vibrant restaurant quarter, new homes and office spaces, an iconic building housing the town library and a new bus station. The benefits of a vibrant town centre will be felt by all wards within the borough and help build strong local communities.
• By creating and maintaining attractive, clean and green public spaces that are accessible
  to all.
• By providing residents and businesses with information about environmental issues and
  getting individuals and organisations to act responsibly toward the environment giving due regard to minimizing waste, encouraging a culture of recycling and lowering CO2 emissions.
• By ensuring that our planning policies and activities are environmentally sensitive and sustainable and deliver improvements in air quality (by reducing the use of the car and by promoting alternative modes of transport).Initiatives such as Art @ the Centre and a focus on ‘concentrating development’ in the most sustainable location will help in the regeneration of the Town Centre, improve its image and allow it to become a regional transport and shopping hub.
• By increasing choices for homeseekers, offering sustainable housing options and having a resettlement service that supports clients to successfully maintain their tenancies and prevent the risk of homelessness, isolation and social exclusion.
• By ensuring homes are safe and meets the needs of individuals and families and which comply with the government’s decent homes standard.
• By maximising the supply of affordable and appropriate housing for local people working with partners to bring back into use empty homes and negotiating robustly for acceptable affordable housing contributions on private sector developments.

We look forward to a cleaner, greener and more vibrant Slough that;

• Enjoys an improved quality of public space.
• Has communities that are proud of their local environment and have a strong sense of public ownership.
• Is environmentally sustainable with a strong culture of recycling, energy efficiency and
  a sustainable transport system.
• Has a vibrant and rejuvenated town centre.

Slough will;

• Recycle 60% of waste by 2028
• Have reduced its CO2 emission by 20% by 2028
• Have all public transport and council vehicles running on cleaner fuel by 2028

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