This year, we will not only be celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, a once in a lifetime experience, we will also see Watford’s Centenary anniversary as a borough marked.

Watford is my town, it is where I was born and bred. There is nowhere else I would rather live.

Watford has always been a welcoming and diverse town and because of this we have a wide variety of eateries catering for all communities. There are over 160 languages spoken across the town. The vibrancy is something which other towns in Hertfordshire are envious of. We are all united.

The town today is far different from that I grew up in. Multi-storey car parks were some of the tallest buildings then. I often used to play cricket in the Harebreaks, it was my Oval. Even when I pass by today, I remember those summer days playing with my friends. I hope that our green open spaces remain untouched by the bulldozers, for future generations.

When I went to Parkgate School in the 1980s, the buses were green and we had a bus garage. Now the buses are greener, but the garage has been flattened for flats. There will be yet another crane towering over the town very soon.

My first job was working at Marks and Spencer in the town centre. Watford had a flourishing retail sector then, shopping habits have changed. The only thing online in those days was your washing!

Many of us have fond memories of growing up in Watford. The Centenary and Platinum Jubilee celebrations will give us all an opportunity to share and reminisce about our past and our hopes for the future in an ever-changing Watford.

  • Cllr Asif Khan is chairman of Watford Labour Party