I was fourteen when that thought first came to my mind. I was walking down Slough High Street, looking at the lampposts lined up one after the other; dull and practical. Other towns had colour and personality.Ours felt… blank.So, I picked up a paintbrush.
I joined 17 other local artists on a project to brighten the town. I still remember standing on the High Street, carefully painting lamppost, hands slightly shaky but heart completely full. At the time, there was very little public art. No large-scale murals. No colourful underpasses. I used to wonder why Slough, a town bursting with languages, cultures and sto-ries, did not show that on its walls.
Back then, it felt like I was adding a tiny drop of colour to a very grey canvas. Then, slowly, things began to change. Artwork began appearing across town. Leigh Road gained bold designs celebrating the future of the Trading Estate. Stoke Road reflected our diversity in colour. Duke House no longer felt anony-mous. Even the railway station began greeting commuters with creativity instead of concrete. As a young girl, I didn’t think of it as “urban regeneration” or “placemaking.”
I just wanted Slough to feel alive. I wanted our streets to reflect the energy I saw in our schools, our community events, our festivals. I wanted people to walk through town and feel something.
Now, when I walk through Slough, I feel proud. Not because the artwork is perfect.Not because every corner is transformed, but because the shift happened. Because colour arrived.
As Slough bids to become the UK Town of Culture, it is worth remembering: this movement did not begin in a boardroom.It began with ordinary people asking simple questions.It happened because grassroots artists, volunteers and community groups kept showing up. They painted.They imagined. They cared.And every time I pass those lampposts on the High Street, I smile.I remember what it looked like before.And I know how powerful one small brushstroke can be.
Gozan John is an A-level student School at St. Bernard’s employed by Viva Slough to look under the hood and give a young person’s perspective on the news stories shaping the town.
£40million funding for Slough Borough Council is a real test
OPINION
by Vineet Vijh, Viva Slough
SLOUGH’S £40 million Pride of Place funding is more than a welcome investment. It is a test.
A test of whether we can turn money into meaning. Whether we can move beyond patching up spaces to genuinely transforming how we live in them. And, perhaps most importantly, whether we as residents are ready to stop complaining and do something about our town. Pride of Place is not just about place. It is about people.
Yes, this funding can deliver better parks, improved public spaces, attractive community centres and Youth Centres. But bricks, benches and paving stones alone do not create pride. Civic sense does.
That is where we need to be honest with ourselves. Pride of Place cannot succeed if it is treated as someone else’s responsibility. Keeping spaces clean, respecting public areas, and looking out for one another are not council services; they are community habits. If this investment is to have a lasting impact, it must be matched by a shared commitment from all of us to take greater ownership of our town.
This is where investment in arts and culture matters. Art has a unique ability to humanise space.
A mural can turn a blank wall into a story. A sculpture can create a meeting point. A community art project can bring together people who might otherwise never speak.These are not cosmetic additions. They are tools for connection, identity and pride.
However, we should be clear-eyed about the risks. Too often, funding like this gets absorbed into processes rather than outcomes. There is endless consultation that is done as a tick-box exercise rather than a genuine means to make positive change. The Slough Borough Council is an expert at this.
For the Council, it is a rare opportunity to get the fundamentals right. Focus on what people experience every day. Prioritise quality over complexity. Move at a pace. And most importantly, design with people, not for them. Genuine co-creation, not tick-box consulta-tion, will be the difference between something that lasts and something that fades.
There is also the risk of fragmentation. Two areas benefit directly. but the perception of uneven investment across the town needs careful handling. Communication will be key, not just about what is happening, but why.
£40 million is a significant sum. But its real value will be measured not in pounds spent, but in pride restored.
Vineet Vijh is the Founder of Viva Slough, an organisation dedicated to improving the perception of Slough, and is leading Slough’s bid for the UK Town of Culture in 2028.
