focus on slough
SLOUGH IS CHANGING – FOR THE BETTER
The Centre
New homes, school expansions and new community and leisure facilities pave the way for a bright future
Andy Howell, general manager at Slough Urban Renewal (SUR) gives us a detailed insight into how the joint venture partnership between Slough Borough Council and Morgan Sindall Investments is transforming the borough of Slough, through a broad spectrum of projects and initiatives.
It is an exciting time to be in Slough. So much change is underway, making the town an increasingly attractive place to live, work and enjoy. Already renowned as a hub of industry, the town enjoys superb connections, it boasts the UK’s largest industrial trading estate and it is home to some of the world’s most successful businesses. However, the perception of Slough is also changing, supported by new quality homes, excellent educational establishments and achievements and a range of new leisure and community facilities – this is making it a desirable destination not only to work, but to live.
The town really is transforming and we are proud at Slough Urban Renewal (SUR), to be a catalyst for making Slough a ‘regeneration hot spot’. From delivering new community and leisure facilities to expanding and improving local schools, building new council housing and launching our first residential housing development, our role encompasses a broad range of initiatives, which are already underway – and we can see they are already having a positive impact.
As a joint venture partnership, we are closely aligned with Slough Borough Council’s wider strategic objectives and our projects are directly tailored to meeting the council’s vision – from assisting residents to achieve healthier lifestyles to providing a better quality of housing for those living within the borough.
St Mary’s Primary School
We have already made significant headway, with lots more to come. Notable milestones to date include:
The Curve. In September 2016, we opened The Curve, a new premier library and cultural centre for Slough. The new building encompasses a stunning, brand new library, it also includes a café, museum, performance venue, learning rooms and computer suite. A superb facility for the town, its residents and local business too, with several rooms available for hire – suitable for anything from an informal meeting to a larger training session or conference.
In the first week alone, the new library recorded some significant success:
• More than 7,000 books were issued by the library in the first week compared with 11,000 for the whole month of July 2016
• 522 new members joined the library in the first week compared with 430 for the whole month of July 2016
• 2,000 library members visited and borrowed books and more than 1,000 used the public computers
Arbour Park Community Sports Stadium. We have delivered a 1,950-capacity stadium, 3G floodlit pitch along with function rooms and a four-court sports hall – all of which is open for use by the wider community. This award-winning community sports facility serves an area of the borough that has high inactivity levels and offers a programme of activity attracting local people of all ages to become more active, more often – a key element of the council’s five-year £35 million leisure strategy. Slough Town football club, which now plays its home games at the Stadium, is thriving at this new facility; the first team has gone from strength to strength in front of packed crowds and the team is now ranked towards the top of the league.
School extensions. Through our local schools’ projects, we are creating more school places, while vastly improving teaching facilities and surroundings for hundreds of children within the borough. Work is currently underway to expand and improve three schools within the borough – we are extending, remodelling, and refurbishing Claycots Primary School, St Mary’s Primary School and James Elliman Academy, delivering additional classrooms and new sports facilities. Plans for an additional four school extension projects are already in the pipeline.
The Centre and the Ice Arena. Improving and enhancing the borough’s sports and community facilities is a core element of the
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businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – APRIL 2017
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