Shopping centre closes doors ahead of revamp

A shopping centre has closed its doors ahead of a major revamp.

Last year Berkeley Homes purchased the twin Queensmere and Observatory shopping centres in Slough, Berkshire, calling them a key part of the town centre's regeneration.

Queensmere has now closed, with retailers moving into the still-open Observatory.

Caroline Crowe, land and development director for Berkeley Homes, said the developer had outline planning for 1,600 homes "including retail and leisure on the ground floors for people to enjoy and actually visit Slough".

The shopping centre was originally built in the 1970s, and has been at the heart of the town's high street for decades.

Slough Historian Jaye Isherwood said it first opened in 1973 but by the 1980s was "starting to look really tired".

A refurbishment started in 1997 which was completed in 1999.

She said: "It became a very popular shopping centre supporting some major stores."

Isherwood said there was also an underground pub called the Kingfisher beneath the shopping centre, and that "people walking into Queensmere in the latter years never realised they were walking on top of the pub".

Residents have described the shopping mall, which still has its white and beige 1970s tiles, as a snapshot of what used to be.

Slough resident Julia Thurauf said: "It's changed a lot over the years. Things have closed down and opened but I remember when I was young [I would go to Queensmere] with my friends and we would go to Claire's'."

Hamza Ghose, another resident, said: "It always felt like the heart of the high street. It felt very lively. Whatever you needed you could find it in the Queensmere."

Crowe said: "The crux of it is these big shopping centres and town centres have been in decline across the UK for many years now.

"Whilst it might be eerie in the Queensmere side of the shopping centre the Observatory is very much open for business."

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