Petition to rename Slough to save its reputation splits opinion

51.1 per cent said changing the name would help improve the town's image and 44.8 per cent said it would not

(BBC)

A petition to rename the town of Slouth has split opinion, with those who voted for narrowly voting those who voted against.

Of 656 people who voted in a poll for the Slough Express, 51.1 per cent said changing the name of Slough would help improve town's image and 44.8 per cent said it would not.

The town was the subject of John Betjeman's poem Slough, which begins: "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! / It isn't fit for humans now".

It was also the setting for Ricky Gervais' TV comedy The Office.

The town was the subject of John Betjeman's poem Slough, which begins: 'Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! / It isn't fit for humans now' (Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

The initiative came from Slough resident Hamzah Ahmed, who told the Slough Express: “Slough is the biggest centre for business outside of London but I think there are preconceptions attached to the town.

“People seem to think that so much crime takes place in the borough but I feel in reality, it is not dangerous to live here.”

Mr Hamzah suggested the name of Upton, a village in Slough.

General view of the skyline of the Borough of Slough (Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

Slough was first recorded as "Slo" in 1196 and has been known as "Le Slowe," "Slowe" and "Slow". Its name is thought to have derived from part of the Parish named "The Slow Field" or from slough, a mire or morass where the soil is wet.

A spokeswoman for Slough Borough Council said: “The future of a town is never certain, but the name of our town and borough has not held us back for the past 90 years and is unlikely to suddenly do so.

"We are Slough, fame and infamy alike. And as is often quoted ‘it is better to be talked about than not talked about’.”