Clerk to take nominations for election of the Chairman.

The clerk began the meeting by asking for any nominations for the Chairman position. Councillor Hollingsworth proposed Angela Clark and this was seconded by Lisa Hughes.

This was Unanimously Agreed by the Forum.

Chairman to take nominations for the Vice Chairman.

The Chairman, Angela Clark, proposed Lisa Hughes for the Vice Chairman role. This was seconded by Councillor Hollingsworth.

This was Unanimously Agreed by the Forum.

The Chairman to welcome all to the meeting and have introductions around the room.

The Chairman welcomed all to the Forum especially Eric Waters and Alison Hanscomb from Great Western Railways and Councillor Coppinger.

The Chairman informed the Forum that as of 6 April 2017, it would be illegal for taxi drivers to discriminate against wheelchair users or charge extra or refuse the fare.

Dominic Manley asked how passengers were to know the correct fares as he had been quoted £24 for a one mile journey. Lynne Penn informed the Panel that any issues should be reported to the Licensing team at RBWM with the license plate number or registration plate.

Lisa Hughes asked about therapy and guide dogs travelling with passengers in taxis, could they be refused? Lynne Penn informed the Forum that there was no reason to refuse the fare unless the driver had an allergy, in which case they could refuse but also must report to the authority.

To receive any Apologies.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Love and Julia White.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting.

The minutes of the meeting on 12 December 2016 were Unanimously Agreed.

To consider the Matters arising below:

6.1       Partnership Progress update (Achieving for Children, Optalis, Highways & Transport)

Lynne Penn, Transport & Access Team Leader gave an update on the partnership progress. See attached.

Points raised by Forum Member included:

·         Where would RBWM staff be located? Councillor Coppinger informed the Forum that all staff would remain as now except after the refurbishment of York House, Children’s Services would join Adult Services there.

·         What age did Children’s Services cover up to ? Councillor Coppinger informed the Forum, the age was 25 years, however, for a period, both Children’s and Adults would have involvement.

·         Councillor Coppinger informed the Forum that benefits of the partnerships would include retention of staff as there would be more opportunities. Unitary authorities tend to be smaller and staff turnover tends to be high as a result of lack of opportunities.

6.2       Maidenhead Station

Eric Waters and Alison Hanscomb, Great Western Railways, gave an update to the Forum on the main changes at Maidenhead Station. These included:

·         There will be additional stairs on platforms 2 and 3 and on platforms 4 and 5 to allow a better flow of passengers.

·         A new enhanced ticket office will be available.

·         There will be ten gates in total, the southern entrance would have four gates instead of two.

·         The entrance is being considered as currently it included more than one building which had too many pillars.

·         The platforms will be extended to cater for the extra long CrossRail trains.

·         The power supply will be increased in seven weeks.

·         All trains will be fully electric. Currently these only operate between Hayes and London Paddington. After the increase in the power supply, they will travel between Maidenhead and London Paddington. And from January 2018, they will travel between Didcot and London Paddington.

·         The carriages on the trains will increase, with eight carriages on all stopping trains and twelve carriages on the limited stop trains.

·         Canopies will be extended, with two additional bays on each platform.

·         The subways will be refurbished.

·         Two current lifts on platforms 2 and 3 will be moved to a more central position. There will be a new lift on platform 1.

·         All platforms will be raised for the ease of use for wheelchair users, however ramps would still be required. The issues of ramps and staff were discussed, especially when unbooked. The Forum was reassured that assistance would be available from the station office.

·         Currently there are toilets on platforms 4 and 5, which are wheelchair accessible. There are no plans to increase the number of toilets.

·         The coffee shop will remain as present.

·         The latest design for the forecourt includes a wider pavement from the road to the station and disabled parking closer to the station entrance.

Gordon Oliver, Principal Transport Policy Officer, updated the Forum on the modelling work that was being carried out on the crossing between the town centre and the station. Options will be discussed at a meeting with the LEP on 11 April.

Councillor Hollingsworth enquired about a path  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider the items below:

7.1       Consultations

Lynne Penn, Transport and Access Team Leader, informed the Forum Members that there were no current consultations.

If anyone wishes to see the consultations online, they can be found at:

https://www3.rbwm.gov.uk/consultations

7.2       Planning Applications

Lisa Hughes had volunteered to look at future planning applications which would be of interest to the Access Advisory Forum and was happy to report that there were four applications:

·         Council offices in Windsor, additional floor, require lift clarifications.

·         2 x Apartment buildings, disabled car parking spaces removed after application passed.

·         Picture house, Bridge street, clarification on signage.

The Chairman requested feedback on these four applications.

ACTION: Lynne Penn to take forward.

7.3       Changing Places

Changing Places toilets provide:

The right equipment

• A height adjustable changing bench

• A tracking hoist system, or mobile hoist if this is not possible

Enough space

• Adequate space in the changing area for the disabled person and up to two carers

• A centrally placed toilet with room either side for the carers

• A screen or curtain to allow the disabled person and carer some privacy

A safe and clean environment

• Wide tear off paper roll to cover the bench

• A large waste bin for disposable pads

• A non-slip floor

The borough has three changing place, they are all located in leisure centres, one in the Magnet, Maidenhead, one at Windsor leisure centre and one at Cox Green leisure centre. The borough looked at placing a changing place at the coach park in Windsor but two accessible toilets would have been removed so did not go ahead. There are many opportunities for the borough with all the regeneration taking place. Mobile changing facilities are also available at some public events.

7.4       Review of Terms of Reference

The Forum had previously looked at the Terms of Reference and the following changes were agreed:

·         In section 1.2, Membership,

o   delete point five,

o   in point six, delete the word ‘appropriate’, add the words ‘enabling’ and ‘to access services’ so it should read “RBWM officers concerned with enabling people with disabilities to access services”.

o   In point eight, add ‘or representatives’so it should read “The Forum Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be service users or representatives. They shall be independent from the Council and shall be elected from amongst the members of the Forum”.

7.5       Access to River Street car park, Windsor

Tim Clare informed the Forum that there were problems in reaching the ticket machine to go into the car park. This was resulting in the barrier not going up and traffic building up. Tim Clare suggested a chip be placed in blue badge passes that could be read from further distance.

Neil Walter suggested the two options that were being discussed, Automated Number Plate Recognition and/or a proximity reader. Neil Walter suggested that as a short term measure, the driver could call before reaching the car park in order for the attendant to be aware. Tim Clare highlighted that this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The dates of the next set of meetings are as follows:

Monday 19 June 2017

Monday 25 September 2017

Monday 4 December 2017

Monday 19 March 2018

The dates of the next meetings were noted.

The dates of the next set of meetings are as follows:

Monday 19 June 2017

Monday 25 September 2017

Monday 4 December 2017

Monday 19 March 2018