Does Slough deserve its bad reputation?

Slough is no stranger to criticism.

A famous poem was written about how bad it is, it provided the backdrop for Ricky Gervais' The Office, and, most recently, it was voted the most miserable place to live in the UK.

In 1937, two years before the outbreak of World War Two, Sir John Betjeman's ode to the Berkshire town began: "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now."

Nearly nine decades later, it seems its reputation has not improved, with a Rightmove survey of 35,000 people across the UK in December ranking Slough as the unhappiest place to live.

The year before, it was judged the UK's ugliest town by The Telegraph, receiving a score of just two points out of a possible 50.

Yet the town, about two miles from Windsor and 20 miles from London, has so often been at the heart of British innovation and creativity.

Slough brought the world the TV show Thunderbirds, the iconic Ford GT40 racing car, wheelie bins and the Mars bar, to name a few.

And, of course, the Road Research Laboratory - the world authority on roundabouts and zebra crossings - born out of the "Slough Experiment" in the 1950s.

It has provided film locations for Kevin Costner's 1991 Robin Hood Prince of Thieves movie, Carry on Camping in 1969 and 1964's James Bond film Goldfinger.

Slough has also schooled the likes of comedian Jimmy Carr, actress Una Stubbs, TV presenter Ulrika Johnson, former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.

Samina Hussain, founder of Sakoon Through Cancer, a charity supporting South Asian women with breast cancer, says: "The Office sitcom didn't help and sort of gave Slough a bad name.

"The problem is, if you are given a bad name it sticks. No matter how you try to change that perception, it doesn't always follow through."

With the largest trading estate in single ownership in Europe and an Elizabeth line station, she says the town's connections are great but what is "very special" is the strong sense of community.

"During Covid, when people were furloughed, losing their jobs at the airport, they were able to navigate and work with agencies to get them into employment, food parcels - there is lots of good will."

Jamie Greene, director of Slough West Indian People's Enterprise (Swipe), has lived in the town for 34 years and says of the Rightmove survey results: "These things go round and round.

"Only a few years ago, we were voted the best town to live and work in."

Indeed, in 2017 it came top in a survey of the 25 best towns and cities to live and work in.

He says: "Slough has so many things going for it.

"It's full of pioneers and innovators – so many things happen here first."

Its Brutalist architecture, popular in the 1950s to the mid-1970s, is now considered dated and tired. On its high street, shops stand empty and abandoned.

Recent police statistics showed it was "one of, if not the most dangerous town" in the county, according to a Labour councillor, and figures from Shelter in December revealed it had the highest rate of homelessness of any borough outside of London.

In 2021, the local authority was effectively declared bankrupt, after racking up a £760m borrowing debt and a £357m deficit. Government-appointed commissioners continue to oversee Slough Borough Council's finances as it tries to reduce its debt.

According to a council report, based on data from the 2021 Census, Slough has a diverse, young population but "pockets of severe deprivation", high levels of overcrowding and the largest average household size in England and Wales.

Jamie says while the number of rough sleepers in the town has gone up, Slough has a "fantastic network of volunteers to assist homeless people".

Praising the community spirit, he says: "There are about 170 languages spoken here now, it's very multicultural, everyone just gets along."

Slough resident Vineet Vijh believes negative perceptions of Slough have been "built over time" and more recent "issues with the council" have also had an impact.

In May 2020, Vineet set up Viva Slough, a social enterprise with a mission to enhance people's mental, physical and economic wellbeing.

He says: "This is the only place that different communities get along and the voluntary sector is very strong, there are people of different ethnicities all working together.

"In the 80s and 90s, Slough was regarded as a wonderful place. The shopping centre here was marvellous. It was one of the places people would come to from all over."

Milan Govedarica, manager of Slough Museum, says it has much to still be proud of.

"It has a unique flavour of a small town, while being just 15 or 20 minutes' train ride from the centre of one of the world's busiest capitals," he tells the BBC.

While landlocked, Slough has the "feel of a busy harbour area", due to the multitude of people from across the world settling here, thanks to its proximity to London and nearby airports, says Milan.

"It's a global village, built on top of the traditional no-nonsense British working class culture.

"A place of extremes, housing a record number of FTSE 100 companies and, at the same time, dealing with growing issues of homelessness and a housing crisis.

"A place of overbuilt urban quarters and lots of beautiful parks. A place of feisty and extraordinarily resilient people, grinding their way through the global economic, political and health crisis while within their social circles showing unusual generosity and cohesion."

So maybe it's time to give Slough a break. Even Betjeman was said to have later regretted the harshness of his poem.

:: Additional reporting by Neranjana Elapatha

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.