To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Buckley and Walters.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were none declared.

For details of the Order of Proceedings please see page 5.

The Mayor, Mrs Christine Bateson, welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting and reflected on her year as in office.

Mrs Bateson thanked all the officers who had supported her: Andrew Scott, Dean Graham, Emma Duncan, Amarjit Mitharo and Mark Blackshaw. In particular she highlighted Alison Singleton, Mayoral Secretary who had been brilliant. During her year as Mayor she had been very luck to attend special and historic events. At the start of her year she had attended events to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee which was a wonderful start to an interesting and enjoyable 12 months. She reflected that, in September, she had felt privileged to journey to London to see the Queen lying in state and attend the service in Saint George’s Chapel following the funeral procession. She had also been involved in the proclamation of His Majesty the Kind, attended Buckingham Palace to deliver a royal address to him and saw the Coronation Concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle. She reflected that alongside the high-profile events she had also enjoyed all if the other engagements such as opening new stores, visiting day centre, attending community events and meeting lost of people at around 200 events. She reported that the borough was blessed with hundreds of volunteers, and she was astonished by the hours of work and effort made by Scout Leaders, Rotarians and Lions. The Windsor and Maidenhead Community and Interfaith Groups did such good work to keep harmony and peace as well as celebrating the diverse borough. She concluded that it was lovely to finish her 28 years as a Councillor as Mayor she had many happy memories and had made many friends. She was looking forwarded to active retirement and would be travelling abroad to visit family and friends. 

The Mayor invited nominations for the election of the Mayor of the Royal Borough for 2022/23. 

In proposing Councillor Neil Knowles for the role of Mayor, Councillor Jones stated that he was born in Newcastle Under Lyme but moved to Windsor at an early age with his military family. They were then posted all over the world including Germany, Malaya and Singapore before returning to the UK and Windsor, where he attended Dedworth Green Secondary School as it was then. He joined the Army and The Life Guards straight from school and served in Windsor, Cyprus, Germany, Canada before returning to Windsor again, where he met Teresa.

Following a tour of Mounted Duty Neil applied for and passed the Army Pilots course becoming an Army Helicopter Pilot in the Army Air Corps serving everywhere there was conflict until completing his Regular service moving onto the reserve, in which he served with the Royal Air Force until the age of 55, when he retired as a Squadron Leader.

On leaving the Army, Neil become a Radio and TV presenter and producer working for the BBC then local commercial Radio before joining the British Forces Broadcasting Service, again working everywhere there was conflict until he moved into project,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

For details of the Order of Proceedings please see page 5.

In nominating Councillor Bond for the office of Deputy Mayor, Councillor Werner stated that he had known him for over 35 years from when he was helping in a local elections campaign in 1987. Councillor Bond had taught him that being loud was not the way to be effective, he thought him diligence, perseverance and hard work. He stated that Councillor Bond had advised him to consider in decision making how less fortunate people would be affected and what could be done to empower them. He advised that residents in Belmont also used words such as diligence, perseverance and hard work to describe Councillor Bond. He reflected that Councillor Bond was the one Councillor, over the past four years, that every Councillor from every party would stop talking to listen to. He reported that Councillor Bond was very humble and there was a long list of charities that he had supported over the years including setting up Wild Maidenhead and Maidenhead Foodshare, MaidEnergy and the Crauford Arms. He noted that those attributes were perfect for the role of Deputy Mayor.

In seconding the motion, Councillor Price commented that his quiet but determined style would prepare him for the role. Councillor Bond would be supported by his consort, David Armitage. David had applied his food science studies in his career at Rank Hovis McDougal Research Centre. During retirement he has actively campaigned for clearer labelling on food products so that those without perfect vision can read the ingredients. David is helpful, supportive and sociable and also has an enquiring scientific curiosity which were ideal attributes as consort to the Deputy Mayor.

It was moved by Councillor Werner, seconded by Councillor Price, and:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: that Councillor Simon Bond be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for the ensuing Municipal Year.

The Chief Executive declared Councillor Simon Bond duly appointed Deputy Mayor. Councillor Bond made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, witnessed by Councillors Price and Hill.

In his speech of acceptance, Councillor Bond said he it been a privilege to represent the residents of Belmont ward and wanted to thank them for electing himself and Sian martin as their Ward Councillors. He reflected that when he was approached about becoming Deputy Mayor he had been surprised as it was outside of his comfort zone. He added that everyone says it is a great opportunity to learn about life across the borough through the voluntary and community sector which was something he was looking forward to do. He reflected that it was never too late to learn something new and considered that with the new Council this was something everyone would be doing a lot of. He thanked council officers and councillors for the various lessons he had learnt on his Council journey so far. He was looking forward to working with the new Mayor over the coming year and thanked everyone for giving him the opportunity.

Councillor Bond then presented Mr Gary Muir and Caron North  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To elect a Leader of the Council on the nomination of the Group forming the Administration of the Council.

The Mayor invited nominations for the election of Leader of the Council for 2023 – 2027.

On the proposition of Councillor Jones, seconded by Councillor Del Campo it was

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that Councillor Simon Werner be appointed as Leader of the Royal Borough for 2023 – 2027. 

To consider the political balance of the council, and the structure and appointment of Committees and Panels etc as the Council considers appropriate to deal with matters which are neither reserved to the Council nor part executive functions.

Council to appoint the Chairs and Vice-Chairs to each body appointed under this item with the exception of the Appeals Panel, which shall select a Chair from the Panel membership at the start of each Panel meeting for the duration of that meeting, and the Overview and Scrutiny Panels which will elect Chairs from their membership.

Council considered the political balance in accordance with the duty in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to review and determine the representation of the different political groups on bodies appointed by the council following the May election. The Mayor advised the meeting that an updated report had been circulated to councillors with the details of nominations provided. The report highlighted proposed changes by the new administration and the executive arrangements for the municipal year.

On the proposition of Councillor Werner, Leader of the Council seconded by Councillor Jones it was

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that

i)               the political balance of the council as a result of the local elections held on 4 May 2023 as detailed in paragraph 2.1 be noted;

ii)             the membership of the committees, panels and forums be approved for the ensuing Municipal Year as detailed in the Appendix to the minutes;

iii)            the Chairs and Vice-Chairs be appointed for the ensuing Municipal Year as detailed in the Appendix to the minutes;

iv)            authority be delegated to the Service Lead – Electoral and Democratic Services to amend/make further appointments on the nomination of the relevant Group Leader; and

v)             authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to amend the constitution as appropriate in light of any amendments to the structure of Panels, Committees and Forums as detailed in the Appendix to the minutes.