To receive any apologies for absence.

The Chair, Councillor G. Singh, welcomed everyone to the meeting. Forum members then introduced themselves.

No apologies received.

To receive any declarations of interest.

Councillor Reynolds declared that he and Councillor Taylor were RBWM appointees to the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, highlighting that Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) were in attendance of the meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th July 2023.

Laurence Ellis, Democratic Services Officer, went through the actions the previous meeting:

Outstanding actions:

·       ACTION: Ed Goose to report back on the Maidenhead Station Team’s assessment once the Station Team had completed their assessment.

·       ACTION: A report to be sent to Cabinet to hand over the assets of the Forecourts Scheme.

·       ACTION: HUB to share the website link to the existing consultation on Building C.

·       ACTION: Simon Lymn to check whether the traffic flow modelling was done before or after the closure of Broadway car park.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th July 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record.

To receive an update from Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue.

(The order of agenda items was changed whereby ‘Item 5 – Fire and Rescue Service’ was considered fourth.)

The Chair announced that that he was swapping Items 4 and 5 to allow Martin O’Keefe, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS), to be relieved early from the meeting as he was on duty.

Martin O’Keefe informed that he was the East Hub Response Insurance Manager where he was responsible for fire service response within eastern Berkshire, encompassing Maidenhead, Windsor, Slough and Langley. He informed that he would discuss some progress which had taken place at Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service but added that he was unable to comment on specific buildings.

Martin O’Keefe informed that the Fire and Rescue Service had attended 1,736 incidents in July 2023. While the data responses for August 2023 was pending, he assured that the figure would be significantly lower compared to the same period in 2022, largely because of the unseasonable weather.

Martin O’Keefe informed that the Fire and Rescue Service attended 7,300 incidents throughout 2022, with 814 of these incidents being property fires. Since 2017, the Service had sought to prioritise prevention activities to reduce the number of emergency calls. This involved undertaking 37,000 Safe and Well visits whereby the Service visited homes and gave fire safety advice.

Martin O’Keefe then informed that there had been some significant investments in the Service in order to respond to the 46 recommendations forwarded to fire and rescue services in local authorities following the Grenfell Fire in 2017. From the back this, the Service had undertaken a built environment project. Phase One of the project concluded with the Service undertaking 187 inspections of high-rise buildings and providing 4,700 residents with individually-tailored fire safety advice. When undertaking the review, the Service identified 97 buildings which were placed into special management measures due to cladding issues or fire safety breaches.

Martin O’Keefe stated that there had been further investment in equipment and training for staff, which included the purchase of a high reach aerial ladder platform (reaching up to 45 metres or 15 floors) to enable an improved response to high-rise incidents. He informed that the Service had focused on water rescue incidents, particularly in east Berkshire due to a number of incidents in the last two years. The Service had delivered an additional water rescue capability which covered the east of Berkshire and was running out of Slough fire station.

Martin O’Keefe explained that the Service’s East Hub Protection Department of Fire Safety Inspectors had adapted to the changes in the Regulatory Fire Safety Reform Order of 2005. This involved conducting auditing of premises which were not classed as private dwellings, such as high-risk and high-rise buildings, where there would likely be communal areas. The Service was also working closely with local authority housing to share legislation and allow a more holistic approach to reviewing the safety of premises. For example, while the Service did not have the powers to inspect individual flats, they fell under the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 228.

The Chair and Vice-Chair to highlight any updates of interest to residents.

(The order of agenda items was changed whereby ‘Item 4 – Resident Update’ was considered fifth.)

The Chair announced that he had invited David Hill, a local resident, writer and actor, to the Forum meeting to promote his new play, which was to have a theatre showing in Maidenhead.

After giving a brief background of himself, David Hill informed that he created a political and biographical theatre play called Draining the Swamp, in which he was the leading star. The play had five actors and was being held at the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts from Thursday 28^th to Saturday 30^th September with 4 performances. This followed a successful run at The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, where 12 performances were conducted. There was also going to be a national tour of the play in early-2024. He hoped that the Forum would help promote the play.

David Hill explained that the play explored the life and activities of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. He opined that the recent depiction of Mosley and his wife, Lady Diana Milford, in the television series Peaky Blinders as being portrayed as “two-dimensional thuggish villains” meant it failed to recognise them as having a more rounded personality and that it did not reduce the danger of some of their pronouncements, views and activities.

David Hill stated that he got interested in Mosley around four or five years prior, in conjunction with an intrigue with the recent rise in national-populist movements across Europe, which illustrated a rise in nationalism he stated was akin to fascism. David Hill perceived this as a possibility that the lessons of the 1930s had not been learned, particularly with former US President Donald Trump’s pronouncements as well as the Storming of the US Capitol Building on 6^th January 2021.

From this, David Hill believed that there were some lessons which needed to be explored further and to work out how to deal with extreme politicians, citing that Trump’s popularity had increased in spite of his recent indictment.

Intrigued with recent events, David Hill explained, he decided to write a play to explore Oswald Mosley’s life and activities and linking it to present day events, as well as casting himself to portray Mosley himself. He described Mosley as a “complex character”, explaining that he served both as a Conservative and Labour MP, considered the finest speaker in the House of Commons in the 1920s, and preached radical ideas to resolve the unemployment and Great Depression of the late-1920s and early-1930s. He rhetorically asked how Mosley went from the former to leading the fascist party.

David Hill explained that the play explored why this transformation took place, the flaws of Mosley’s character (e.g., his womanising and extra marital affairs), and his legacy. He also informed that in the 1960s, Mosley founded and led the Union Movement which advocated for European unity and that he campaigned for Britain to join the European  ...  view the full minutes text for item 229.

An overview of EV Charging Points, Highways permit schemes and road closures from Tim Golabek, Service Lead for Transport and Infrastructure.

EV Charging Points:

Tim Golabek, Service Lead Transport, informed that his item covered three topics and that he would allow the opportunity for questions in between each one.

Starting with electric vehicle (EV) charging points, Tim Golabek confirmed that there were plans to install more EV charging points across the Borough. In February 2023, Cabinet approved the adoption of the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Implementation Plan (EVCIP) (available on the RBWM website), which detailed the Borough’s approach over the next decade on how the Council could support the transition from fuel (i.e., petrol and diesel) vehicles towards electric vehicles. While the Borough would not fill out a role in every single area, there were areas in which the Council could and should play a role.

Tim Golabek then conveyed the highlights of the EVCIP. There would be an appropriate pace an of installing EV charge-point devices at around 75 per year over the next decade, keeping on par or slightly ahead in the forecast of the uptake in electric car ownership in the Borough and nationally.

The installed charge-points would be a combination of ‘connected corners’: charge-points in residential areas where a number of bays could be co-located, and residents could then access them and pay the relevant tariff which would be based on the market price. The Borough was also looking into installing some charge-points in Council-run car parks.

The Borough would work with an appropriate partner who had the technological ability to bring the EVCIP forward. A paper to recommend joining another framework for the procurement of a partnership was to be brought forward to the Cabinet meeting in October 2023 for approval.* The framework would allow the Borough to package off what it would like to see installed within the Borough.

*Post-meeting update: This would occur in the Cabinet meeting on 29^th November 2023.

The Transport Team hoped to find a partner or partners which would allow both a commercially beneficial installation and a social benefit where the Borough could direct the development and not based solely on where the partner could make a substantial commercial return. Current intelligence suggested that a commercial return could be eight-to-ten years as it would take a while for the right number of vehicles to be on the road.

The EVCIP called out a repeated investment by the Council to be matched by a procurement partner (similar to other local authorities had done). From this, the Borough could have an influence without taking the whole responsibility of the maintenance and the installation of the charge-points as this account for millions of pounds of investment over the planned period.

As the EVCIP was a 10-year-plan, there would likely be changes to the Plan as well as opportunities during this period to review to ensure the Borough continued to match the required pace.

Once the Cabinet meeting in October 2023 has taken place*, there would be some engagement with local Borough Ward Councillors and identify areas to prioritise installation which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 230.

To receive an update on the Maidenhead Library Services from Louise Freeth, Assistant Director of Revenues Benefits Library and Resident Services, and Angela Huisman, Library and Resident Contact Lead.

Angela Huisman, Library and Resident Contact Lead, alongside Louise Freeth, Assistant Director of Revenues, Benefits, Library and Resident Services, gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining the Maidenhead Library services.

Angela Huisman informed that a Library Transformation Strategy was established in 2021. The vision was to “provide physical and virtual spaces that build connections and facilitate access to knowledge, resources and support so that residents are equipped to aspire and thrive.”

Angela Huisman announced that Maidenhead Library, the ‘flagship library’ in Windsor and Maidenhead, recently had its 50^th anniversary for its construction with 7,000 people visiting the Library during the week to celebrate. Maidenhead Library received around 1,000 visits per day with residents utilising its physical space.

Angela Huisman then explained services in which Maidenhead Library provided.

Lending offers included a collection of physical books and e-books, millions of songs in which visitors could listen for free, audio e-books which could be downloaded and listened anywhere, newspapers and e-newspapers which were available on PressReader and included international newspapers alongside UK newspapers, and a collection of e-magazines. Electronic tablets on loan were provided for visitors who did not have their own devices or internet connection, as well as a video streaming platform called Kanopy which provided thousands of movies.

There was also an Online Reference Offer with 30 online reference resources. These included:

·       Universal Credit How To Guide

·       BFI Replay – 60 years of screen stories, digitised and preserved for visitors. Thousands of films and TV programmes from the National Archive.

·       Access To Research – Free access to over 30 million academic journals, research papers and articles from top universities.

·       FutureLearn – Short online courses from top universities and specialist organisations.

·       Training & Tools from Google (Google Digital Garage) – Basic Digital Skills Training

·       Learn My Way – Training from starting to use the internet or email to staying in touch and office programmes. Visitors could learn how to manage and spend their money online, manage their health online and understand internet safety and security. 

·       Which? – ‘Best buys, don’t buys’ and so much more.

·       AncestryLibrary™ – Family History.

·       RBWM Cobra – Business Support for start-ups and small businesses with templates, start-up guides, sector guides and updates, business support, business rules and regulations, business information factsheets, local area profiles and a Business Legal Library.

In terms of events and activities, they included:

1.     CLASS (Adult Learning) support twice a week,

2.     Lego Create Sessions,

3.     Children’s Games Clubs,

4.     Friends in Need Book Group,

5.     Pop-Up Poetry,

6.     Storytimes and Rhymetimes,

7.     Knit and Natter,

8.     IT Help,

9.     Weekly Accessibility mornings,

10.  Outreach events in the community,

11.  Voluntary and Community Sector (CVS) support in libraries.

Library events were able to be viewed on the Library Events RBWM webpage. The events list was constantly changed as they tailored to the community and delivered by members of the community.

Regarding the Support and Accessibility Offer:

·       All library staff are trained to provide effective signposting to support and services as well  ...  view the full minutes text for item 231.

Residents and Forum attendees are invited to make suggestions on agenda items for future forum Meetings and ask any questions.

Councillor Reynolds reiterated his request for an item from the Maidenhead Town Team on any new retailers coming to Maidenhead in the next few months. When asked by the Chair, Laurence Ellis stated that he could ask Robyn Bunyan, Maidenhead Town Manager, if she could attend the next Forum meeting in November 2023 and then ask her to include the new retailers. He also highlighted that the Forum meeting in July 2023, Robyn Bunyan mentioned that she may not be able to publicly give away certain details.

Councillor Taylor suggested that Councillor Douglas, as the Champion for Volunteering, could do an item on the work at the Maidenhead Community Centre, namely what facilities were available and the types of volunteering they offered, so residents had an idea on what they could get involved in. Councillor Douglas agreed.

Laurence Ellis highlighted that an item which the Chair suggested outside of the meeting was inviting Holyport F.C. and asked if the Chair still wanted this, to which he confirmed.

Councillor Taylor suggested to regularly invite charity organisations in Maidenhead to Forum meetings where they could give an overview of their work, how people could get involve or donate. She gave reason that the charities in which she supported were not well known and were local and thus the Forum could help raise their profile. She asked if the Forum had any thoughts on this item.

Councillor Reynolds liked the idea, seeing it as helpful to know how certain local charities worked as well as to raise their profiles.

The items suggested for future Forum meetings:

·       Maidenhead Town Update (including new retailers in Maidenhead),

·       Holyport F.C.

·       A charity.

All future meetings to be held on the following dates (at 6:30pm):

·       13^th November 2023

·       15^th January 2024

·       13^th March 2024

·       9^th May 2024

The Forum noted that the next meeting would be held on 13^th November 2023 at 6:30pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Maidenhead.

They also noted the other upcoming meetings (all at 6:30pm):

·       15^th January 2024

·       13^th March 2024

·       9^th May 2024