To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Tisi.

To declare any Declarations of Interest.

No declarations of interest were made.

To approve the minutes of the two previous meetings held on 13 July 2022 and 15 November 2022.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meetings held on 13 July 2022 & 15 November 2022 were a true and accurate record.

Councillor Price asked the Chair if the actions that arose from these meetings could be discussed. Oran Norris-Browne, Democratic Services Officer confirmed that all actions had been completed. Councillor Price did however raise the question about the Forum’s powers within the Terms of Reference via the constitution, which the forum should consider moving forward.

To receive the above item.

PCSO Liz Davidson introduced the update from Thames Valley Police (TVP) by saying that the crime statistics were to be shared, were from a month ago and that they specifically covered Windsor Town Centre. There were 8 reports of Anti-Social behaviour and sadly 28 thefts from motor vehicles. No reported bikes were stolen. The Chair asked if at future meetings, a report could be sent through to the forum members in advance of the meetings. This was taken on board by PC Jon Brooks who said that they had been asked to attend the meeting at short notice, due to Sergeant Stef Day having to attend some last-minute training.

PC Jon Brooks said that the neighbourhood team had started the ‘have your say’ campaign, which was conducted through various stalls around the borough. The surveys were also to be sent out and shared via the Thames Valley Alert and also accessible through the TVP website. The purpose of the survey was to set out the goals for the forthcoming year. The Chair asked if the results of the surveys could be brought back to a potential future meeting. PC Jon Brooks said that he would certainly feed this back.

Councillor Wisdom Da Costa said that it would be useful for a scope of possibilities be provided to residents in the surveys, to show what could be provided from TVP to residents. He also agreed with the Chair’s comments on receiving reports prior to the meeting. PC Jon Brooks said that Inspector Bennett would be attending future meetings in place of Jeff Pick.

Councillor Hilton said that the believed someone was to take over Jeff Pick’s role and asked if this could be followed up outside of the meeting. Councillor Cannon said that a role was to be developed and was in place to be more visible in the near future.

Councillor Hilton asked what the nature was of the incidents of anti-social behaviour. The details were not known, however a more recent one was the throwing of eggs, so it could have been along similar lines. Councillor Hilton said that trends were of interest to residents and that he would like to see this within future reports.

Councillor Price asked about an incident on the riverside and what had happened with this. Councillor Davey had been chasing this offline and said that he had reassurances that it was a priority of TVP and that extensive conversations had occurred offline about it.

Councillor Price then provided some feedback on the ‘have your say’ stand and said that it was quite plain and needed a large sign for example, in order to attract more people towards it. She also commented on the lack of information that was available to residents about scams nowadays but said that this was present however at the stand earlier in the day.

John Holland, resident from Sheet Street echoed the comments of the Chair that a written report in advance of the meeting would be very beneficial.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 281.

To receive an update from Ingrid Fernandes on the project.

Jeff Hudson, Chair of Windsor Cristian Action, said that the needs of the vulnerable within the community had never been greater. The charity had been established in 2013 with an aim of supporting vulnerable people within the Windsor community by giving them access to immediate support, but also helping them in the process of rebuilding their lives.

Jeff Hudson went on to say that there were four different areas to the charity, which were all divided into different projects that each focused on supporting the vulnerable. These were as followed:

·       Windsor Food Share

·       Windsor Homeless Project

·       Street Angels

·       More than a Shelter

Jeff Hudson then gave some context and added detail on each of the four. The Windsor Food Share’s main aim was to support the hungry families and individuals that resided within Windsor with non-perishable food. He stated that the rise in inflation had of course seen a rise in costs and this therefore had hit the most vulnerable within society. More pressure had now been placed upon households due to these rising costs. He said that many of the people that visited Windsor Food Share had homes of their own and worked jobs, however the organisation ensured that even the most basic of food items were provided to fight against poverty. There was a salaried manager and also up to 50 volunteers. In 2022 alone, meals were provided for up to 7,000 plus individuals, although maybe repeat persons.

The Windsor Homeless Project supported the homeless and vulnerable people of Windsor with a safe space via a local day centre. They are provided with hot meals and also other services that are essential for wellbeing. These included healthcare and professional housing & tenancy advice. This gave the homeless and vulnerable a strong foundation to build upon, to improve their lives. Services that were also available included laundry, access to the internet and also access to a telephone. 12 guests had been setup in housing and 3 had been seen to go into full-time employment too.

The Street Angels provided care and safety to predominantly young adults and also rough sleepers during the night who required medical attention, shelter or maybe some other type of support. The night time economy in Windsor played a key role in this, often taking in people who required assistance late at night. Patrols occurred nearby to clubs and pubs, and paramedics also attended these patrols too.

Finally, ‘More than a Shelter’, provided overnight accommodation and meals to a range of rough sleepers during the three coldest months of the year. These were predominantly January, February, and March. A warm hub was also to be set up during the days of the week in which the day centre was not open. This would provide not only food, but also company to those people who were feeling lonely or isolated in their community during the week.

Jeremy Crame, Trustee of Windsor Cristian Action, said that after a lengthy search for a premises, a property was acquired  ...  view the full minutes text for item 282.

To receive a report from Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager.

Paul Roach, Windsor & Eton Town Manager, began his update by apologising for not sending out a report in advance of the meeting. He said that due to a very full Christmas programme, he had worked 40 days straight and therefore had been on annual leave since boxing day. 

Paul Roach briefly outlined some key statistics from HM Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and procession. 900 stewards were deployed within Windsor on that day, with around 85-100 of those being volunteers. Over 6,000 police officers were deployed to manage security arrangements. Around 102,000 people attended the funeral cortege in Old Windsor, the Long Walk and Home Park. Over 500,000 visitor movements were recorded during the week prior to the funeral.

Paul Roach said that a number of businesses in Windsor held a royal warrant and that anyone within the next 18 months who held this, would have to close/discontinue certain products or stores. A warrant would have to be obtained for King Charles III. A bank holiday was said to have cost the UK economy roughly £2 billion.

In terms of footfall for December, Paul Roach said that levels were beginning to look very similar to the pre-pandemic levels that were seen in 2019. November and December levels were in fact higher than the 2019 numbers. The total number of visitors to Windsor to date was 7,132,033, which was up 23.3% on 2021. The busiest day recorded was Christmas Eve, which saw a footfall number of 33,624 visitors, with a peak time of 2pm.

Paul Roach said that parking levels had generally been lower than 2019 levels, however they were increasing. The level of coach park figures were still very low, although it was seen that there was an increase in international visitors coming to the town centre. He then mentioned some new stores that had opened in recent months, with some currently under development/offer such as Greggs, Zara Plus and Chicken House.

Paul Roach then shared some images with the forum members, which showed the enormous turnouts that were seen in Windsor during the Christmas period. These included the Christmas Lights switch on, the living advent calendar, the Windsor Yards Festive Weekend, Carols on the Hill, Windsor on Ice, and the Windsor Brewery. Some events had only 80 people attend, but then some saw up to 300 visitors.

The Chair thanked Paul Roach for his update and used her powers as Chair, to invite any questions from residents first before forum members. A Windsor resident, said that in the town, there were vast amounts of overgrown vegetation such as hedges and trees. Along the pavements also, particularly around the Victoria Barracks and all along Sheet Street, there were an enormous number of weeds growing through cracks in the pavement. He said that during the summer months, if similar heat was seen as it was during 2022, then these would cause a danger to residents and likely ignite. He implored for the borough the tackle this issue as a priority. The Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 283.

To consider the Forum’s work programme.

Oran Norris-Browne said that there were currently two items scheduled in for the next forum meeting in March 2023. However, based upon feedback within the meeting from residents, he suggested the forum could if they wished, follow the same procedure as the Maidenhead Town Forum, where there was no work programme and that there was instead a standing item for residents to suggest topics for the next meeting. Oran Norris-Browne could then put these suggestions to officers for their professional opinions on whether the issue required going to the next forum in a few months’ time, and if not, the officer could liaise with the resident directly offline over certain individual cases in between forum meetings.

Oran Norris-Browne encouraged residents to register to speak at other meetings such as Overview & Scrutiny Panels where the topic of air pollution was soon to be discussed and where EV Charging Points had been discussed in November 2022. He also reminded participants that not all things that were being suggested would be guaranteed to be on the next agenda, as this had to be managed carefully.

John Holland said that he would like to suggest the Windsor Vision as an item for the next forum’s agenda as well as car pollution.

Councillor Hilton thanked Oran Norris-Browne for his advice and agreed that issues that covered not just Windsor such as EV charging, were indeed better suited for an Overview & Scrutiny Panel.

Fiona, resident from Sheet Street, thanked Paul Roach for his updates and agreed with previous resident comments. She asked if the management and cleaning up of litter could be considered as well as the issue with traffic and car pollution. Fiona also supported the EV Charging points item coming to a future meeting.

Oran Norris-Browne also promoted the use of the Council’s Social Media Channels which he utilised to send out posts roughly 6 weeks and 2 weeks before every forum meeting, to encourage residents to submit him questions and topics for discussion.

Ed Wilson thanked Oran Norris-Browne for his points and said that he had written to him several times asking for certain items to be added to future agendas, which Oran had successfully done.  He wished for the management and planting of trees to be considered as a future item also.

Items proposed for the next meeting included:

·       EV Charging Points in Windsor

·       The Windsor Vision

·       Car Pollution/Traffic in Windsor

·       The cleaning up and management of litter

·       The management of existing trees and the planting of new ones

Forum to discuss on whether or not the next meeting should be held in-person or remain as a virtual meeting. The decision must be unanimous for the meeting to be held in-person.

The next meeting is 20 March 2023, 6.30pm, Virtual via Zoom.

The Chair wished to propose that the next Windsor Town Forum in March 2023 was also held in-person opposed to it being held virtually. Councillor Hilton agreed and said that the current meeting showed that resident engagement was higher and more beneficial when held in-person. All forum members raised their hands when asked if they supported this.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the next Windsor Town Forum in March 2023 be held in-person at York House, Windsor.