Bracknell needs skilled jobs so its young people can stay in their hometown, council leader Mary Temperton has said.

She joined those arguing the case for Bracknell as a “great place to live and work” at a business leaders’ get-together on Thursday, November 23.

Councillor Temperton told Bracknell News: “It’s about keeping skilled jobs in Bracknell so young graduates can return to their hometown and be employed.”

Company chiefs at the Bracknell Business Improvement District (BID) conference said they wanted to see more businesses settling their offices in the town.

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BID marketing manager Helen Barnett said: “It’s down to everybody to talk Bracknell up – that’s the really important thing.

“It’s really really important that people’s perception of Bracknell changes. The more we talk up the town, the more likely we are to get more of these tenants coming in.”

Bosses of property and office management firms spoke of opportunities as the return to office-based work after the pandemic continues.

Although the Covid-19 lockdowns triggered a rise in home and hybrid working – where desk-based jobs are done entirely or partially from home – speakers said they had seen an increase in office working.

And they said Bracknell had fared better than some of its neighbours as a place where businesses might choose to open offices.

Guy Parkes of property consultants Vail Williams said, in terms of how much office space is occupied, Bracknell is “performing better” than nearby towns including Reading, Maidenhead and Slough.

He said this was due to its transport connections such as the M4 and M3 motorways, railway line and Heathrow Airport. He also said the construction of The Lexicon had made Bracknell a more attractive place to live.

Mr Parkes said: “The accessibility is amazing. The market is good value. The Lexicon is amazing. If you remember what was there before – oh my lord, it’s changed beyond anything that was possible.”

Bracknell Forest Council’s executive director of place, planning and regeneration said the council wanted to use its planning policies to help repurpose existing buildings for offices.

He said: “Where we see our greatest opportunities is within the employment areas for intensification, but also that repurposing.”

Bracknell MP James Sunderland said the event was “really important.” He told Bracknell News: “Occupancy of office space here is way higher than in other parts of the country. There’s a lot here to be thankful for.

It’s clearly a great place to do business because of the communications, because of the high tech workforce, Because Bracknell’s a really great place to live. But we can’t be complacent – I think we have to do yet more to attract business here.”