The Lexicon

By the early 2000s, Bracknell’s town centre—built in the 1950s as part of the post-war New Town programme—had become dated, inward-facing and commercially uncompetitive. Efforts to regenerate it had stalled for decades. The challenge was not only to create a successful retail and leisure scheme but to re-establish Bracknell as a place where people would want to live, work and spend time. This meant navigating long-standing planning complexities, fragmented land ownership and public scepticism.

G&T provided Project Management, Employer's Agent, Principal Designer & CDM Consultancy and Programme & Project Controls services for the £240 million regeneration of Bracknell town centre. The Lexicon delivered 580,000 sq ft of new retail and leisure space, anchored by major stores including Fenwick and M&S, alongside a 12-screen cinema, a 1,300-space multi-storey car park and a new public square. Our on-site presence enabled close collaboration with stakeholders and effective coordination of satellite projects, including the modernisation of the retail centre not demolished to make way for the scheme, highways improvements and the sensitive refurbishment of historic local landmarks such as the 15th-century Bull Inn. The team also oversaw wider public realm upgrades and sustainable transport links to ensure long-term integration and community benefit.

The Lexicon has redefined what town centre regeneration can achieve outside major cities. Bracknell is no longer competing on outdated terms; instead, it offers a cohesive, high-quality destination that reflects both contemporary retail demands and local identity. The scheme reversed the area’s retail decline, reactivated the urban core and restored civic pride—seen not only in footfall and rankings but in the local community's renewed connection to place. G&T’s strategic management helped turn a long-stalled vision into a deliverable, impactful reality.