UKREiiF 2026: Slough Strengthens its Investment Story through Economic Growth, Infrastructure and Community Building
- Slough Is Now
- Jun 5
- 5 min read
At UKREiiF 2026, Slough used its platform – including a unique barge to host a roundtable – to reinforce a clear collaborative proposition to investors: inward investment must drive regeneration, economic growth and long-term benefits for residents and communities.
The UK’s number one real estate event, held from 19-21 May at the Royal Armouries Museum and Leeds Dock, brought together senior leaders from across government, development, infrastructure and investment.
UKREiiF provided the setting for two Slough-led discussions, delivered as part of The Great Housing Development Summit: Slough is Now: Powering Growth Through Data and Digital Infrastructure and Slough is Now: Heathrow Corridor – Growth, Connectivity and Delivery.
The senior level participants at the respective roundtable and panel session explored how connectivity, infrastructure, skills and partnership working can unlock growth at scale while ensuring communities benefit from investment.
Connecting Infrastructure with Community Outcomes
A recurring theme across both sessions was that growth cannot be viewed through a single lens of commercial development alone. Instead, successful regeneration depends on aligning housing, infrastructure, employment, placemaking and skills to create places where people can live, work and thrive.
Slough’s role within the UK’s digital economy featured prominently. Home to the UK and Europe’s largest concentration of data centres, the borough continues to leverage its strategic location, connectivity and market access to attract investment and support economic activity. However, participants stressed that future success will depend on translating this advantage into wider local outcomes.
Discussions focused on how digital infrastructure and regional connectivity can support housing delivery, create employment pathways and strengthen placemaking. With around 40,000 people travelling into and out of Slough by rail each day, speakers highlighted the importance of delivering high-quality homes, retaining talent and creating vibrant places that encourage people to build their futures locally.
Alongside physical infrastructure, speakers emphasised the need to build stronger social infrastructure, ensuring investment delivers not just development, but thriving, connected communities with accessible services, opportunities and an ever-stronger sense of identity.
Education, Jobs and Skills for Long-Term Growth
Education, workforce development and inclusive growth emerged as major priorities across both sessions. Participants identified significant skills shortages – across construction, engineering, technology and sectors supporting the data centre economy – highlight the need for stronger collaboration between employers, education providers, community organisations and local government.
The discussions reflected a growing recognition that economic growth must be matched by investment in people. A local borough-wide skills plan, currently being developed in partnership with businesses and community stakeholders, was highlighted as an important step towards aligning workforce development with employer demand, and wider government priorities around youth opportunity.
Speakers also stressed the importance of engaging young people earlier, to help schools and communities better understand the breadth of careers linked to Slough’s economy, from digital infrastructure and engineering to construction, logistics and emerging technologies.
Apprenticeships, training programmes and clearer pathways into high-value employment were recognised as critical tools in enabling residents to benefit directly from growth happening in the borough.
Slough’s strong education offer and diverse, ambitious young population were recognised as major assets. Yet participants acknowledged that retaining talent remains a challenge, particularly where housing affordability and place offer affect whether young people choose to stay, work and build careers locally.
The shared ambition is not simply to create jobs, but to ensure local residents can access, progress within and remain connected to the higher-value employment opportunities being generated through investment and regeneration.
Culture, Placemaking and Creating a Stronger Destination
The discussions also moved beyond traditional development considerations to focus on culture, identity and the quality of place. Speakers agreed that successful regeneration must extend beyond homes, workspace and infrastructure to create places people genuinely want to spend time in and call home.
Community feedback has highlighted demand for stronger leisure, cultural and evening economy offers, alongside public spaces that feel welcoming, active and safe. Participants discussed the importance of creating a broader destination experience – one that supports local businesses, encourages social connection and contributes to community wellbeing.
Slough’s heritage, diversity and green spaces were identified as underused strengths that can play a greater role in shaping the borough’s identity and enhancing its appeal to residents, businesses and investors alike.
From its industrial history and role in previous industrial revolutions to its current position at the forefront of data, technology and AI infrastructure, speakers noted that Slough has a powerful story to tell.
Improving public perception, celebrating local success and building a confident, authentic narrative around Slough’s future were all identified as important components of attracting investment and strengthening community pride.
The Heathrow Corridor’s Investment Opportunity
The Heathrow Corridor panel session expanded the conversation to a regional scale, positioning the corridor as one of the UK’s most strategically important growth and investment locations.
Speakers explored how transport connectivity, digital infrastructure, coordinated planning and cross-boundary collaboration are strengthening investor confidence and accelerating housing, regeneration and employment opportunities across Slough and the wider Heathrow corridor.
The discussions also acknowledged the importance of addressing national infrastructure challenges, including power supply constraints affecting digital infrastructure delivery, through stronger coordination between government, infrastructure providers and industry.
The discussion reinforced that the three corridor boroughs – Slough, Hounslow and Hillingdon – are increasingly demonstrating how strategic connectivity, coordinated planning and strong partnerships can unlock delivery at scale for long-term benefit.
Ultimately, it was shared, stronger public-private collaboration, coordinated planning and infrastructure-led growth will accelerate delivery and position the Heathrow Corridor as a nationally significant opportunity for housing, investment and economic growth.
Partnership-Led Delivery
Across both sessions, collaboration emerged as a defining ingredient of successful delivery. Public-private partnerships, long-term planning certainty and coordinated leadership were identified as critical to unlocking investment and delivering growth that is sustainable, inclusive and deliverable.
Pat Hayes, Executive Director of Regeneration, Environment and Planning at Slough Borough Council, said: “The conversations at UKREiiF reinforced the scale of opportunity for Slough and the Heathrow corridor, but also the importance of delivery. Growth must be supported by infrastructure, skills, housing and strong partnerships if it is to create lasting value for communities.
“Our focus is on creating the right conditions for investment while ensuring regeneration delivers meaningful long-term benefits for residents, businesses and future generations.”
From Momentum to Delivery
The sessions concluded with a shared message: Slough’s competitive advantage lies not only in its connectivity, digital infrastructure and development potential, but in its commitment to turning investment into tangible outcomes, supporting regeneration, empowering economic growth and creating stronger, more resilient communities.
Contact us to Engage
To be part of shaping Slough’s next phase of investment and growth, please get in touch to arrange a conversation or in-person meeting with the Slough is Now leadership team.
