From post-war concrete to contemporary commerce, Bracknell's town centre has undergone one of the most dramatic retail regenerations in the United Kingdom.
The Lexicon shopping centre opened on 7 September 2017, replacing a third of Bracknell's Brutalist town centre that had stood since the 1950s. The Β£240 million development represents the first substantial regeneration of a post-war New Town centre in the UK.
A New Town Built on Post-War Vision
Bracknell was designated a New Town on 17 June 1949, created to alleviate post-war housing shortages and accommodate London's overspill population. The original town centre was designed by architect Cyril "Minch" Minchell, who spent 25 years of his career on the project and chose to make Bracknell his home.
Minchell's vision prioritised separating pedestrians from vehicles. "If it's good enough to build, then it's good enough to live in," he once said. "When you are building a town you are building for people. I wanted to keep the people away from the cars."
By the 2010s, however, that vision had aged poorly. The old town centre suffered from what architect Garry Wilding described as "poor connections, visibility and legibility between its different parts," featuring dead ends, streets leading to underpasses, and elevated walkways that residents found unwelcoming.
Demolition and Rebirth
Demolition of the old centre began in September 2013 after the Broadway and Crossway areas were vacated in June that year. The Brutalist architecture that had once symbolised post-war optimism had become a liability.
The Lexicon emerged as a 580,000 square foot retail and leisure destination with 160 stores, eight anchor tenants, and approximately 4,000 parking spaces. Key retailers include Fenwick, whose 80,000 square foot store marked the department store's first new opening in 14 years, and Marks & Spencer with an equally sized unit.
Other major tenants include Next (22,700 sq ft), the Arcadia Group (20,000 sq ft), and fashion brands such as Joules, Fat Face, Superdry, H&M, River Island, and Seasalt. The dining offer spans Nando's, Wagamama, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Bill's, and Pizza Express.
Leisure provision includes a 12-screen Cineworld cinema with 4DX technology and The Deck, a public space hosting shops, bars, and restaurants. Waitrose opened as Phase 1 in December 2011, while the Grade II listed 15th-century Bull pub was restored and extended rather than demolished.
The Economic Impact
The transformation delivered measurable results. Annual footfall increased from 4β5 million visitors before demolition to 16 million in The Lexicon's first year. Bracknell's retail ranking climbed from 255th nationally to 33rd within 12 months, reaching 29th by January 2019.
Bracknell Forest Council invested Β£6.5 million in highway infrastructure and provided a Β£12.4 million rescue package in January 2015 to keep the development on track. The project was delivered through a partnership between the council, Legal & General Capital, and Schroder UK Real Estate Fund.
Local Reaction
Resident Catriona Adams captured local sentiment at the opening: "We don't often get exciting things happening in Bracknell. I've been waiting for over two decades for this to appear so I'm really pleased it's finally happened. We've been going to Reading for the last 10 years because the shops here had slowly gone down and down, but I think definitely people in this area will start coming back to Bracknell."
Councillor Paul Bettison, Leader of Bracknell Forest Council, said: "To see this is to love it. The fact that we've achieved this, this gives us more to build on."
Royal Recognition
Queen Elizabeth II visited The Lexicon on 19 October 2018, one year after opening. The royal household described the regeneration as "one of the biggest town centre regenerations in the UK."
The development has won multiple awards, including the Revo Gold Awards 2018 and Thames Valley Property Awards 2018 "Development of the Year."
What This Means for Bracknell
For a town whose original population of 5,000 expanded to 45,000 under the New Town programme, The Lexicon addresses a long-standing retail deficit. As Hugo Fenwick, Group Trading Director at Fenwick, noted: "Until the town centre was reborn, it wasn't worth investing here. Bracknell has always been a great place to live, work and play, but until now, it hasn't been a great place to shop."
The development has effectively closed the "geographic black hole" between Reading and Guildford, serving a catchment with household incomes 28 per cent above the national average that previously lacked quality retail options.
Phase 3, announced in March 2019 with a Β£30 million investment, includes refurbishment of Princess Square. The regeneration continues.