Agenda and minutes

Venue: Guildhall, Windsor - Guildhall

Contact: Wendy Binmore  01628 796251

Items
No. Item

76.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bowden.

77.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 219 KB

To receive any Declarations of Interest.

Minutes:

None.

78.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2018 be approved.                

 

Actions from previous minutes

 

Terms of Reference for the Windsor Town Forum

 

Following a request from Helen Price, to increase the number of meetings of the forum which took place across the municipal year due to the volume of agenda items being discussed at the Forum. The Feedback the Chairman received from the Lead Member in charge of overseeing the constitutional changes to meetings was that the number of meetings would remain the same. However, the Chairman of the Windsor Town Forum had the discretion to call extra meetings should the need arise.

 

Windsor Riverside Update

 

A Workshop took place a few months ago but, it was agreed that more work was needed before anything was brought forward and update provided. Sessions would still go ahead in the libraries to inform residents of the progress, but a date had not yet been agreed as to when those sessions would begin. The sessions would not take place until Members were happy with proposals. The library information sessions would be published in the Around the Royal Borough publication.

 

Street lights

 

With regards to a request to turn off street lights at certain times of the night, Councillor Bicknell confirmed the lights were remotely controlled individually so could be programmed to specific requests.

 

It had been reported that there were street lights in St Leonards Road that were not working. The town Manager stated he was still waiting for an update from the Highways Team to confirm if the lights were not working, and if they were not working, when they would be repaired.

 

Social Media use by RBWM

 

The Communications Team had been split into two elements; the traditional style Communications Team and the Digital Media Team. Therefore, the Borough’s social media reach should improve.

 

The Royal Wedding update

 

An update was requested regarding the stonework on the front of the Guildhall, Windsor and if it was going to be refurbished or redecorated in time for the royal wedding. The Chairman confirmed a capital programme of works had been submitted and approved and that had been accelerated to be completed prior to the wedding. However, the façade of the Guildhall was not able to be carried out as there were no professionals that were qualified to carry out the works available prior to the weeding date. The façade was still listed to be completed.

 

Charles Street improvements

 

Susy Shearer had noted works had been completed to Charles Street but, that the floral element had been removed. The Chairman confirmed that the flower boxes were to be reinstated and that it was a joint project between Radian and RBWM.

York House development hoardings

 

The Forum noted the hoardings were now in place and the Chairman hoped residents approved of them.

 

Old Court update

 

The Old Court had now reopened and was much livelier than it had been previously. A cinema was also opening on 6 July  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

79.

Policing In Windsor Update

To receive an update on Policing in Windsor

Minutes:

Louise Warbrick, Thames Valley Police (TVP), explained that she was the Neighbourhood Inspector and gave an update on the work that had been done in Windsor since the last meeting.

 

Members of the Forum noted following the issue of sexual assaults that had taken place prior to the last Windsor Town Forum meeting, one of the perpetrators of the assault had been prosecuted and was due for sentencing on Friday 6 July 2018.

 

Since the last meeting, quarterly stakeholder meetings had been set up, Councillor Grey was the Chairman of the meetings where they discussed all issues surrounding the Night Time Economy (NTE). The next meeting was due to take place on 11 July 2018 with representatives attending from the Ambulance Service, Public Health, Pub Watch, Resilience, Ascot Racecourse, among others. Louise had also been working with Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager, Environmental Protection Officers and the Head of Communities Enforcement and Partnerships to look at taxi marshals which could help reduce crime during the NTE.

 

No significant crimes relating to the NTE had been reported but, TVP did review any crimes that took place on a weekly basis. The Police had a very positive relationship with the Borough’s licensing team.

 

On the run up to the Royal Wedding, TVP worked very closely with the Windsor Town Manager on a daily basis which helped to strengthen the relationship and helped integrate social media coverage and there were now weekly alerts via email to businesses.

 

Thames Valley Police had been working on helping to reduce homelessness and they were still attending meetings to help reduce homelessness since the wedding had taken place, it was an ongoing issue which the Police were committed to help reduce.

 

In October 2018, a pilot was due to begin at Windsor Baptist Church to have community responders and specialist paramedics based there to build on a volunteer network and to work as a partnership on the NTE. A cooking scheme had also been introduced to give local people life skills and that incorporated the army and peer mentoring schemes for youths in the Windsor Girls School. Thames Valley Police were also working with young people to look at restorative justice to bring victims and their perpetrators together to resolve and prevent further crime. Thames Valley Police were also working on a number of different strands of crime such as knife and violent crime.

Councillor S. Rayner stated she had been involved with the food academy set up at Windsor Girls School and it had been a huge success and it was great that TVP, the army and the council were working together on the project.

 

Councillor Alexander asked the Inspector if security for the Royal Wedding in October 2018 would be as high as that of Prince Harry and Ms. Markle. The Inspector confirmed that she did not expect it to be of the same scale but, it was a moving picture.

 

Councillor Bhatti queried what preventative measures were being taken to prevent travellers’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

80.

Review of the Royal Wedding

to review the details of the Council’s role in the Royal Wedding.

Minutes:

Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager gave a brief overview of the review carried out following the Royal Wedding. Members noted the following key points:

 

Ø  Ceremonial Events Project Group (CEPG) – Outline its role in delivering the Royal Weddingand Partners working on the project from November 2017.

Ø  Partners (TVP, Royal Household, Cabinet Office, Private Secretary, MET, Stations, Shopping Centres).

Ø  Key concerns - security, capacity of the town centre, length and location of procession and road network.

Ø  Consultations - Residents and Businesses - Web chat events 150 questions Business meeting and training - over 250 businesses and individuals attended briefings throughout April – Project Griffon Training.

Ø  Overall management - Over 2000 police officers, 1200 stewards, 140 Royal Borough Ambassadors, over 50 council staff.

Ø  The royal wedding stats:

·         120,000 visitors. (following review of camera footage and stewarding reports).

·         worldwide audience 2 billion 

·         4km of bunting including 1km designed by local schoolchildren and groups.

·         140 Royal Borough Ambassadors volunteered to help ensure visitors had a safe and enjoyable day.

·         Over 7km of crowd barriers used along the procession route.

·         68 catering units on the Long Walk and in Alexandra Gardens. Some units were  local businesses including  Daniels, Windsor Brewery, Once upon a bus and Buy Buttons (Guinness World Record) 

·         13 large screens delivered for visitors to watch the ceremony and procession.

·         746 extra toilets.

·         13 tonnes of waste collected by a team of 80 waste collectors from Veolia and Urbaser.

·         20,160 bottles of Buxton water handed out to visitors and staff.

·         45,000 passenger journeys on South Western Railway services and 22,000 on GWR.

·         100,000 pints of Windsor and Eton Brewery’s Harry and Meghan’s Windsor Knot sold nationally.

·         1,000 tonnes of material used to resurface town centre roads, covering the equivalent area of two football pitches.

 

·         Tactics used to maximise increased number of visitors to the town centre

o   Coordinate colour scheme of hanging baskets in the town centre

o   Main walking routes through key trading areas of the town centre – Windsor Yards, Peascod Street, St Leonards Road.

o   Information booklet provided information for visitors.

o   On street promotions in and around walking routes.

o   Support key marketing promotion and supporting press request with local businesses

 

Ø  Key RBWM Involvement

 

·         Bringing forward a budget of 2.6 million to ensure  Windsor Town Centre looked the part

o   Improved junctions

o   Chewing gum removal programme

o   Fixing key walkways and foot paths

o   Painting and washing down all street furniture

Others things 

o   Sales of Official merchandise still continuing – Over £3k sold.

o   Still handing out information booklet for the day and official top trumps.

o   Footfall has been boosted to up to 35% every week since the wedding.  Friday 18 saw increase of 143% increase and there was an increase of 82% on the day of the day of the wedding.

o   Some businesses saw increases for the week of upto 150% and some reporting their best ever sales since moving to Windsor

o   Top Trump  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

81.

Maximising Town Centre Footfall

Update from the Town Manager on the work carried out to increase and maximise Town Centre Footfall.

Minutes:

The Town Manager had covered most of the footfall item in the review of the Royal Wedding but stated that the signage for the Windsor Yards had started to be changed with many of the signposts in the Town now showing the way to Windsor Yards and not King Edward Court.

 

The old Fenwicks site was still looking for a tenant but, until the sight lines were sorted, it was still on hold at present.

 

The empty units in the Town still stood at 5% on vacancy rates but, that was better than the rest of the UK. There were 17 vacant units in the Town Centre out of 450 units in total.

82.

Windsor 2030 update

To receive an update on Windsor 2030 activity.

Minutes:

Sally Stevens from Windsor 2030 gave Members an update on the progress of the Neighbourhood plan for the Town Centre and Members noted the following key points:

 

Progress had been slow due to being so active in preparation for the Royal Wedding but several workshops had taken place. the group were still on track to submit their plan by Christmas 2018.

 

Councillor E. Wilson queried how much public money had been invested in producing the Local Plan. Sally Stevens confirmed she did not have the details. The Chairman confirmed £20,000 had come from the Borough and the group could also apply for a grant from the DCLG Locality Fund. He added he attended the Windsor 2030 AGM and he could see where the funding had been spent transparently; also the website and Facebook pages were up to date and the plan was well developed. Sally Stevens stated flyers were being drawn up to encourage residents and businesses to have their say. She wanted everyone to fully engage with the process.

 

The Town Manager stated there would be two referendums as there were two Neighbourhood Plans, one for businesses and one for residents. Claire Milne, a local resident and, Co-Chair of The Windsor Neighbourhood Plan (WNP) resident led plan, stated a consultation on the Regulation 14 Consultation had taken place at the end of 2016 which had thrown up some issues so, the Plan was rewritten and the draft Plan had been reviewed and further amendments were made. She added the consultants had tightened it all up and an SEA had been done which had taken six months. The WNP thought they might have to do another Regulation 14 consultation but, it would be smaller than the original one. Once that had been done, the Plan would then go to Regulation 15 with final submission to the Borough taking place in September or October 2018. If the Borough approved of the Plan, it would then be reviewed by the examiner to see if it was fit for referendum.

 

Councillor Quick thanked both groups producing their respective Windsor Neighbourhood Plans for the amount of work that had gone into producing the Plans. Councillor Alexander commented Eton Wick’s Neighbourhood Plan was due to go to referendum on 5 July 2018 so it would be interesting to see how that turned out.