The Forum shall receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

The Forum are asked to declare any interests that they may have.

No interests were declared.

The Forum are to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2023 as a true and accurate record.

The Chair went through the actions from the last meeting.

The Chair raised a question from the minutes of the last meeting who was responsible for clearing up litter along the motorway slip roads. Andrew Durrant, Director of Place, replied that he was uncertain as some of the responsibilities fell outside of the Local Authority, and therefore he needed liaise with National Highways. He suggested that he could discuss with Alysse Strachan, Head of Neighbourhood Services, and forward a written response to the Forum.

ACTION: Alysse Strachan, Head of Neighbourhood Services, to provide a written response to explain who was responsible for clearing up litter along the motorway slip roads and forward a written response to the Forum.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meetings held on 20 March 2023 were a true and accurate record.

To receive an update from Andrew Durrant, Executive Director of Place Services, on events and projects in Windsor.

Andrew Durrant informed that his agenda item had been combined with ‘Item 5 – Town Manager Update’ due to Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager, being unavailable to present the item. He presented a PowerPoint.

Andrew Durrant gave a quick update on Operation Golden Orb (code name for the Coronation). A multi-agency event, it involved the Borough, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Thames Valley Police, the BBC and the Royal Household. He reported that the event went well.

Councillor Knowles highlighted that there was an issue with ticketing due to the Windsor area having poor Wi-Fi. Andrew Durrant acknowledged this and that issues around Wi-Fi remained in spite of external partners bringing in some additional Wi-Fi capacity into the footprint. He added that this was a takeaway for future events and something for the Borough to work on.

(Councillor Wisdom Da Costa entered the meeting at 6:46pm)

Andrew Durrant moved onto the Castle Hill Public Ream Project which was underway. It was primarily funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and CIL. It will provide a more pedestrianised area around Castle Hill, improve the pavement and reduce vehicle activity. On the whole, the intention was to promote and prioritise pedestrians.

Jess Hunter, a resident from Park Street, asked if there was any consideration on the project potentially creating a one-way street, expressing concern on traffic flows and restriction of travel for cars. Andrew Durrant replied that this was not something he was aware on; but he stated that he would speak to the Infrastructure Team to see if the issue was being considered and forward an answer to Jess Hunter. He added that traffic flows and impact would have been considered.

Reiterating Jess Hunter’s point, Louise Wilson, a resident from Park Street, raised the issue of traffic, parking, high pedestrian activity, partially caused by poor signage, and the potential danger this could cause. She stated that action was needed to resolve this. Andrew Durrant replied that there was no traffic going through the area as it was a construction site at the moment. Once this was done, there would be controls on vehicle access during the day and visitor hours to Windsor Castle, but there would be increased access around Castle Hill outside of the visitor hours which would help mitigate to mitigate traffic flow issues. He said that he could forward an answer to Louise Wilson alongside Jess Hunter.

ACTION: Huw Jones, Traffic Safety Manager, to be asked to forward details regarding concerns on traffic flow relating to the Castle Hill Public Ream Project to residents.

Continuing his presentation, Andrew Durrant explained that the work phases would continue throughout the year with a construction break in July and August. The project was expected to be completed in February 2024.

Councillor Wilson asked if there was any cost to RBWM on top of the funding for the Castle Hill project; and if the two sources of funding from LEP and CIL could have been applied to another area.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 296.

To receive an update from Paul Roach, Windsor and Eton Town Centre Manager.

This item had been combined with ‘Item 4 – Windsor Events and Projects’ due to Paul Roach being unavailable.

To receive an update from Heathrow Airport.

Andy Knight, Heathrow Airport, gave a presentation on Heathrow Airport’s operations. He informed that he worked in the Communities and Sustainability Team, where his main role was talking about Heathrow’s operations and its impact on communities.

Andy Knight explained where residents could find operational tools and information about Heathrow on their website. On hethrow.com/noise, residents could look information on the planes flying, air routes and altitudes. They could also raise complaints on noise through a phone number, email address and web form. Residents could also acquire news on various operational impacts which may affect them. In addition, the website revealed plans seeking to reduce noise pollution.

Andy Knight then drew attention to various apps which residents could use:

·       WebTrak – track planes travelling to and from Heathrow.

·       WebTrack ‘My Neighbourhood’ – a related app which illustrate trends in flights over a number of months.

·       xPlane – illustrates Heathrow flight distribution over specific locations.

Andy Knight then informed that an extensive section of Heathrow’s website contained other operational information, such as flight paths, rules around night flight, runway alternation, how wind directions affect flight paths, how the historic Cranford Agreement affect easterly operations, and ground noise. The website included videos explaining this information.

Andy Knight then explained that there were plans to introduce easterly alternation as part of the airport expansion project, but this had paused due to the Covid pandemic. To enact easterly alternation, a planning application had to be submitted to Hillingdon Borough Council as well as submit an airspace change to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Andy Knight also explained that there were community forums to allow Heathrow to connect and engage with residents on various issues. He also informed that residents could find Heathrow’s Noise Action Plan. He then briefly explained Heathrow’s noise strategy and Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

Councillor Wisdom Da Costa asked what the cost would be for the installation of the new taxiways. Andy Knight replied that he did not know the cost, but he offered to find out the figure and reply back outside of the meeting.

ACTION: Andy Knight to forward to Councillor Da Costa on the cost of the new taxiways at Heathrow.

Richard Endacott, a resident, asked if Heathrow was able to mitigate when warm weather was predicted. Andy Knight replied that Heathrow could not; rather it depended on wind direction, not temperature. For reasons of safety, Andy Knight explained, aircraft had to land and take off into the wind. He also informed that Heathrow enacted ‘Westerly preference’ where if the wind blow was low, the western runway was used.

When asked by Richard Endacott on whether Heathrow could use the southern runway, Andy Knight explained that it could not be used for landings due to the historical Cranford Agreement. In spite of the agreement having expired, Heathrow had to go through the planning process with Hillingdon Council to enable the groundworks. In addition, Heathrow had to go through the airspace change process to enable departures and airspace.

Nigel Griffin,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 298.

To note the upcoming consultations in Windsor.

No new consultations were raised.

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

The Chair informed that she wanted to make the Forum more inclusive to residents.

Jess Hunter, a resident, raised the issue of traffic through the Town Centre and Park Street, namely the issue of buses and taxis parked along Park Street.

Councillor Tisi highlighted some suggested items from the minutes from the previous meeting. These included management and planting of trees, the state of the Windsor Leisure Centre, repair and maintenance of highways, and family services.

Jim O’Shea, a resident, expressed preference for items which were resident-focused, such as infrastructure and transport, rather than tourist-related items, and cover the whole of Windsor rather than the Town Centre. The Chair agreed that she would like to ensure that there were topics which covered the whole of Windsor and not just the Town Centre.

Anna Leonard, a resident, raised the issue of litter, namely litter scattered everywhere and overflowing litter bins. Councillor Knowles pointed out that there was a presentation on litter in the previous Forum meeting and that it mentioned a call back. The Chair added that residents could report issues like this to Councillors and the RBWM website.

Clare Milne, a resident, asked about adding an item on a Windsor Town Council. Councillor Karen Davies, the Lead Member for a Windsor Town Council, was in attendance to give a summary relating to a Windsor Town Council. She confirmed that the Borough was committed to conducting a community governance review on the unparished areas of Windsor, and that she would forward a motion to Full Council to start the process at the earliest opportunity.

Councillor Karen Davies added that much of the previous community governance review and evidence would be able to be carried forward. However, legally, a new review had to take place because a community governance review had to start and finish within twelve months (the previous review expired a couple of years ago). In addition, another review could not take place for another two years; however, the two-year expiry timeframe would end in July 2023. From there, a new review would take place with information and evidence from the previous governance review. Once the review started, a terms of reference would be agreed and the process would be completed within the 12 month timeframe. The established parish and town councils in the Borough would provide a framework.

Councillor Davies then explained the powers would be subjected to negotiation between the Borough and the new town council. These would be in line with other parish councils, namely starting small and gradually acquiring more powers and responsibilities.

Councillor Davies directed residents to the draft recommendations from the previous community governance review which were still on the RBWM website under Community Governance Review.

Peter Kingswood, a resident, suggested that Windsor Town Forum should be renamed to ‘New Windsor Forum’. He argued that the name ‘Windsor Town Forum’ gave the impression that it should focus on the Town Centre rather than the rest of Windsor. He also conveyed that the Windsor Town  ...  view the full minutes text for item 300.

All future meetings to be held virtually on the following dates (at 6.30pm):

·       18 July 2023 (6:30pm)

·       19 September 2023 (6:30pm)

·       8 November 2023 (6:30pm)

·       11 January 2024 (6:30pm)

·       12 March 2024 (6:30pm)

·       8 May 2024 (6:30pm)

The Forum noted that the next meeting would be held on 18 July 2023 at 6:30pm. The Chair proposed that all future meetings be in-person with a hybrid/virtual attendance option. Councillor Tisi seconded this proposal.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: All future Windsor Town Forum meetings to be in-person at York House, Windsor.

The Chair asked if residents would like an item for the Vision for Windsor to which residents confirmed.

ACTION: Vision for Windsor to be added to the next meeting agenda.