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<\/p>\nLarge parts of a UK town with a big celebrity link have become a wasteland \u2013 with one explorer laying some of the on one of the biggest Tesco in Europe nearby.<\/p>\n
Slough is perhaps best known for its association with hit comedy The Office and it also has posh neighbours like Windsor Castle and Eton College. But the town, about an hour outside London, has lost most of its history through a relentless programme of redevelopment.<\/p>\n
Urban explorer David Burnip visited the town centre, taking in a desolate shopping centre and a high street lined with bookies and charity shops. \u201cEven the Greggs is closed, you don\u2019t normally see a Greggs closing down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: UK city now so 'broken' that 'even the vape shops have gone' and 'zombie' drugs rule<\/b><\/p>\n
To keep up with the exploits of other Urban explorers check out the Daily Star's dedicated section here<\/b><\/p>\n
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Other big name casualties include the Slough branch of Wilkos, after the hardware and furnishings giant went into administration in August this year, and a huge, and now deserted, Debenhams store. "Is this place even worth fixing?" he asked.<\/p>\n
David walked the length of the high street, taking in the almost unbroken chain of betting shops and phone cracking stores. "It's pretty much entirely takeaways, bookies, Cash Converters \u2026 there\u2019s so many different food shops on there it's crazy,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
While Covid has taken its toll on Slough's high street like many others across the UK, David puts some of the blame on the monster Tesco Express nearby. There, customers can take out a phone contract, grab some sushi and even get their hair cut alongside their weekly shop.<\/p>\n
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<\/figure>\n Inside the UK seaside town where boarded up homes sell for as little as 20k![](\"https:\/\/s2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/@trinitymirrordigital\/chameleon-branding\/publications\/dailystar\/img\/logo-schema-dailystar.png\"){kind=logo}
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\u201cYou don't need to go to the High Street when stuff like this exists,\u201d David said. \u201cYou can get your photos printed, you got your pharmacy, got your opticians \u2013 they\u2019ve got everything in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The local shopping mall, too, is a desolate wasteland of boarded-up shopfronts \u2013 with only a few businesses huddled together at one end. The centre's security guard took exception to David filming the empty shops, for some reason, and sent him back out onto the high street.<\/p>\n
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When Slough's Tesco megastore opened in 2010, local Councillor Shafiq Chaudhry predicted that it would benefit other retailers. "In the beginning, there was a bit of concern that opening a new supermarket a few yards away would affect businesses," he said. "People like to have different stores, that means more competition, which is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
David had visited Slough, which was made world-famous after the success of Ricky Gervais\u2019s smash hit sitcom The Office, to show that the phenomenon of hollowed-out high streets isn\u2019t just confined to the north of England.<\/p>\n
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<\/figure>\n 'I can't believe they let us see this' \u2013 urban explorer tours 'worst house in England'<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
He explained: \u201cI\u2019m fed up of people saying \u2018Oh look how bad those northern towns are.\u2019 I know this isn\u2019t just a northern problem so we're down in Slough.\u201d<\/p>\n
David said that, wherever he goes, he always tries to present a balanced picture, and pick out a few positive notes alongside the portrayals of our dying high streets. But all the locals ha had spoken to had simply said \u201cSlough is s***".<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think anyone has been positive about the place at all,\u201d he added. \u201cFrom shops I have gone into from people I\u2019m chatting to \u2013 nobody has been positive about it."<\/p>\n
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