The big retail parks near the M4 are expanding again. More chain restaurants, more car showrooms, more identikit housing estates on the old farm fields. The town centre itself is quieter. Fewer independent shops on Peascod Street. The council talks about footfall strategies but the rental yields are too high for small businesses. The new flats near the station are mostly empty. Bought by investors, not by people moving here.
What is happening is the overflow from London. Slough and Maidenhead are full. Windsor gets the spill. Commuter families who want the school catchment and the park. They drive through Datchet. They do the school run. They do not stay for a drink on the high street.
The river is still busy. The tourist traffic is back to pre-2020 levels. The castle brings them. But they come for the day, buy a fridge magnet, and leave. The local economy is split between souvenir tills and Waitrose. There is not much middle ground left.
The most interesting thing locally is the push for a new secondary school. The existing ones are oversubscribed. That tells you more about Windsor's future than any retail plan.
Paul