A welcome from the Chairman and introductions of all present.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and after reading the Chairman’s notes, invited all present to introduce themselves.

The Chairman thanked Lisa Hughes, the Vice Charman for Chairing the last meeting. The Chairman commented that it had been sad to hear that PaCiP had now closed and the Forum would be hearing from Kelly Nash from Achieving for Children about how support for families with children with learning disabilities could be achieved in the absence of a helpful service.

The Chairman informed the Forum that she had received an email from Carolyn Waites, RBWM learning disabilities partnership board as they were in the process of setting up a parent and carer support group, for those caring for an adult with a learning disability in Windsor and Maidenhead. The Chairman continued that the aim of the group was to provide friendship and support where individual experiences could be shared. The Chairman would be happy to share the email details.

The Chairman requested an update on the current situation of Norden Farm, such a valued centre in the community particularly for those with restricted mobility.

Finally the Chairman commented that she had received an update from Jesal Dhokia on the Community Hub Project and that would be sent with the minutes.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies had been received from Councillor Bowden, Sharon Bunce, Tim Clare, Helen Preedy and Leslie Gray (resident).

To agree the minutes of the last Forum held on 13 September 2021 and receive updates on the actions.

Lisa Hughes asked for the minutes to be amended as follows:

Lisa had incorrectly said that Jeanette Chippington hadn't won a medal at the Paralympics.  She won a Bronze medal in Paracanoe VL2 class.

These were proposed by Dominic Manley and seconded by Councillor Bhangra, subject to the Vice Chairman’s amendment.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: that the minutes of the September meeting be agreed.

Forum to be addressed by Ian Brazier-Dubber and Emmanuel Ogedengbe.

Ian Brazier-Dubber, Managing Director, RBWM Property Company Ltd, introduced himself and gave an update on all the regeneration sites. The regeneration sites included the joint venture with Countryside Homes which managed the development of four sites, York Road, St Clouds Way, Reform Road and West Street, in the centre of the town. Secondly, there was the joint venture with Cala Homes which related to the development of the golf course. The Property Company also managed a small scale of development of affordable development assets, providing a choice of affordable homes and homes for temporary homelessness.

For York Road, the first two buildings had been completed, the affordable homes had been sold to Housing Solutions in the borough and the rest of the properties residential sales were at fifty percent sold. The south part of York Road, the former WRVS site was currently going through the vacant procession process and would come forward in spring 2022.

The planning application by Countryside Homes was going to the planning committee on Wednesday 15 December, for approval, for the redevelopment of the Magnet Leisure Centre site at St Clouds Way. The development would provide a range of 434 apartments and a range of one and two bed apartments across the whole site with a parking ratio of 0.78 to 0.80. The site would provide a range of accessible and affordable homes. If the planning application was to pass, development would begin in spring 2022 for three years.

The CALA Homes joint venture for the golf course was subject to the allocation of the local brough plan.

The property company were also working with development partners in the town centre such as the development of the Landings by Hub Developments and also the ongoing proposed redevelopment of the Nicolson Centre which was going through the planning system. It had received planning consent and had also been post planning negotiating the Section 106 agreement which would provide a range of public goods but also potentially a range of affordable homes. Other areas such as Windsor and Ascot were being looked at for opportunities to actually provide a range of choice of affordable homes for a range of customers and also residents in the borough.

The Chairman asked about the Magnet Leisure Centre site and the two doctor’s surgery’s, the dentist and the chemist and parking. Currently, the patients using the facilities were using the RBWM car park. The Chairman was concerned about the parking provision for the staff and patients, going forward. The allocated space looked very small. Ian Brazier-Dubber commented that the current proposals for St Clouds Way by Countryside did not materially affect the existing parking arrangements. There were 17 parking spaces in their footprint and then there was a lease from the borough to the surgery for a further twenty spaces to the north. These would remain in situ and managed as part of the process as the first phase of the development came forward.

Lisa Hughes asked about Nicholson Centre and it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

A short presentation to be given by Karen Glassey, Operations Director at Legoland.

The Chairman welcomed and introduced Karen Glassey, Operations Director at Legoland to the Forum.

Karen Glassey gave a presentation to the Forum.

The Chairman thanked Karen Glassey for the comprehensive presentation.

The Vice Chairman thanked Karen Glassey too, especially in working with the ride manufacturers to stop ignoring accessibility. Lisa Hughes asked what work was being carried out to publicise this to families with either disabled children or adults with disabilities? Karen Glassey informed to the Forum that some videos had been made including instructional videos of what to do if a ride broke down. There was still more that needed to be done. The Legoland website had recently been reviewed and needed some update to make it easier for guests to find accessibility information and to make the website generally more accessible.

Councillor Rayner also thanked Legoland and also commented that this showed that the royal borough was moving with its key partners with Legoland being the key tourism partners. It was great to see Legoland making these changes.

Sharon Carrigan thanked Karen Glassey especially with working with the manufacturers to build the rides with keeping accessibility in mind. It was a great idea for parents to be able to contact Legoland before arriving there.

Peter Haley also thanked Karen Glassey and requested that the contact details for the Accessibility Team be sent to the Windsor ShopMobility Team, as people did contact them looking for information. Peter Haley asked if the wheelchairs and mobility scooters were still available, and Karen Glassey confirmed that they were and could be prebooked.

Dominic Manley asked for clarification on evacuation and where the responsibility lay about safely evacuating guests. Karen Glassey informed the Forum that it was about giving enough information to users and asking the questions.

The Chairman thanked Karen Glassey once again.

Kelly Nash, School Support - Area SENCo, Inclusion Service, Achieving for Children, to give verbal update on PaCiP and the SEND strategy consultation.

Kelly Nash, Area SENCo, AfC, gave a presentation to the Forum on the update on parental engagement and SEND Strategy Consultation. Katie Clarke introduced herself to the Forum as she was assisting AfC.

The Chairman asked when the Forum would be up and running and was informed that it would be by the end of March 2022.

Councillor Hunt requested that the presentation be circulated to all present at the Forum.

Lisa Hughes commented that all parents and carers of SEND children needed to know about the consultation. Lisa Hughes asked how children educated outside of the borough or not of school age would be contacted. Lisa Hughes suggested that the PACiP website which was still active. Kelly Nash assured the Forum that all details of children outside of the borough were held by AfC and Kelly had contacts with all the schools. The consultation had also been advertised in the RBWM bulletin.

Written Update provided by Tim Golabek, Service Lead Transport and Infrastructure. Helen Preedy to update Forum.

Lisa Hughes read out the written update provided by Sharon Bunce. It read as follows:

Castle Hill precinct pedestrianisation project, Windsor

Forum members provided input to the project team on paving materials, space, kerb upstands and seating for this pedestrianisation project in October 2020.  Tim Golabek, Service Lead for Transport and Infrastructure, advised that the project was at the tender stage and was due to be started in the new year.

Furze Platt

At a site visit in May 2021 with Cllrs Clark and Del Campo, two highways engineers, Lisa Hughes and Sharon Bunce, obstructed and damaged pavements and the lack of dropped kerbs / safe crossing places across Cookham Road / Gardner Road, Switchback Road South and Furze Platt Road, were highlighted. These were heavily used pavements for children going to Furze Platt senior school and St Mary’s Primary school as well as residents using the Chemist, Post Office and shops at Shifford Crescent.

Tim Golabek had initially advised that the information gathered at the site visit hadn't been taken back to highways. However, an email trail sent to Lisa Hughes today showed that the drawings and costings had been done for four locations identified during the site visit. It had been suggested that one element, dropped kerbs across Gardner Road, could be actioned relatively soon. 

The other works were on hold until a decision was made on funding as we had been advised there would not be sufficient funding to complete all areas identified. Cllr Del Campo from Furze Platt ward had asked for clarification around existing funding for essential works. We hoped these works could be expedited to improve pedestrian safety.

Queen Street / Broadway

Site visit was held on 19 Aug 21 with Cllr Stimson, Cllr Singh, Tim Golabek, Lisa Hughes and Sharon Bunce to look at several major hazards for pedestrians crossing the roads in this location.  The temporary car park had now closed but the various arms of this junction still posed hazards for all pedestrians, particularly those with visual and mobility impairments. 

Tim Golabek advised that the matters discussed at the meeting were actioned for remedial work by Neighbourhood Services some time ago and we awaited an update on the timeframe for completion.

Installation of A frame barriers around North Town Moor and Summerleaze Road / Blackamoor Lane junction

An A-Frame had been installed at this location to prevent motorbikes and other vehicles from accessing the footpaths on North Town Moor.  However, the narrowness as these frames tapered upwards, impacted the accessibility of these paths for taller wheelchair users with broader shoulders, mobility scooters, power chairs, some pushchairs and bicycles who may not be able to pass through the barrier.  Other local authorities and campaigning groups had made it clear that A-frames should not be used on paths as they prevent legitimate users (including people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act) from accessing the path.

This matter had been referred to Jacqui Wheeler, Parks and Countryside Access Officer, who was in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

The Forum to be presented an update on the library polices by Angela Huisman, Library and Resident Contact Lead.

Angela Huisman, Library and resident contact lead, gave a presentation to the Forum on the updated policies.

The Chairman thanked Angela Huisman for updating the Forum and asked Forum Members to send any comments directly to Angela Huisman.

Lisa Hughes suggested amending the reference to the children not feeling discriminated to reasonable adjustments needed to be made. Angela Huisman would make these amendments.

Angela Huisman also asked the Forum for any accessibility comments on the policies.

Verbal update received from Neil Walter, Parking Principal.

Neil Walter gave an update to the Forum on all the blue badge spaces in the borough. There had been some active travel measures in relation to the pandemic and some changes that had been made by colleagues in transport and of infrastructure to certain areas of the High Street and Thames Street in Windsor. Changes had been made to the pavement outside Theatre Royal. These changes had resulted in disabled bays being moved slightly. Neil Walter commented that there were many bays in Windsor. The bays at Windsor library had changed to now have a maximum stay limit. Neil Walter commented that the disabled parking bays were still being abused in Ascot High Street and the team would be doing further work. The team were working with Slough Borough Council on blue badge fraud and Slough had taken action against five people. With respect to work in Maidenhead, all the work had been completed. Sunningdale and Sunninghill, both had two bays each.

The Chairman asked if there was a map to show where the blue badge bays were in the borough and Neil Walter showed the Neighbourhood maps Service on the RBWM website and how to use it.

The Chairman informed Neil Walter that the blue badge space on Park Street said disabled on the ground but the notice had not been changed. Neil Walter would look into this.

Lisa Hughes commented that some parking on the kerb was a real nuisance and very dangerous. Neil Walter informed the Forum that all the bills that were due to be proposed had now been withdrawn. Ward Members had been asked to review their wards and report back to Neil Walter to look into. Neil Walter suggested that any comments be submitted to the ward member.

A verbal update to be given to the Forum by Dan Brookman, Head of Transformation.

Dan Brookman, Transformation Manager provided an update on the web improvements, as follows:

Consultations:

We took away comments from the last meeting and were working on a new template that all consultations would link to the RBWMTogether site.  Currently some consultations were on RBWM.gov.uk.   There were two links to consultations on the website:- 

A.      Click on council and democracy and then on consultations

B.      There is a link at the bottom of the website home page.

Active travel consultation

There was some concern at the last meeting that the active travel consultation was not linked properly.  The link was changed on the basis of this comment and was included within the consultation links page.

Website Page

Comments at the last meeting regarding a specific page for people with disabilities.  Was welcome feedback and the team were working on a new landing page template for this that will be linked off the website homepage.

Council Calendar

The Council calendar was also raised previously, and this was reviewed.  There was a link at the bottom of the home page that currently stated “meetings and agenda”  which would be changed to “meetings, agenda and calendar”  This would be made in the new year.

Feedback

Happy to say that there is now a feedback link at the top and bottom of every page on the website.  It gives the ability to rate the page selecting from information on the page, website as a whole, online form or something else with a free text space available as well.  This would form part of an analytics page that would be available on the website in the new year.

Accessibility:

At the last meeting, the Forum spoke about how cabinet office had selected RBWM as part of the first cohort to test accessibility of their corporate website.  After a 12 week period of work we had now been signed off by the cabinet office as compliant with the guidelines.  There were still a small number of historic pdf files that were being worked on but a really good achievement by the team that obviously continued to be reviewed.

Forum to consider the consultations:

·       Budget – Attached is Information on how to take part in the budget consultation.

·       Adult Day Services Update – Attached is a written update on Adult days services

·       Active Travel

Forum Members were informed of all live consultations and were encouraged to participate.

The Chairman asked Councillor Bhangra for an update on Norden Farm. Councillor Bhangra commented that the discussions were still ongoing and they would have to bid for some lottery fund. They had received funding from central government.

The Chairman informed the Forum that Helen Preedy would be leaving the borough and wished her well in the future.

Monday 14 March 2022, 11am.

Forum Members noted the date of the next meeting to be 14 March 2022.