To receive an update on the actions raised at the previous meeting; and also to include an update from the Chairman on the following:

Ø  Measures to prevent Traveller encampments.

Ø  Car Parking Machine Replacements – River Street and Victoria Street Car Parks

Ø  Windsor Riverside Update

Ø  Update on the Borough Local Plan.

Ø  Windsor Link Railway

Ø  Information regarding the Aviation Forum.

Measures to prevent Travellers Encampments

David Scott, Head of CEP (the Head of CEP), stated Members of Cabinet had considered and confirmed a number of sites which would be protected in a phased way. The Borough had experienced a higher number of traveller encampments in 2018 but, they were still at lower levels than many other local authorities (LAs); however, he was still committed and determined to prevent illegal encampments.

Work had started at the Whiteleys site with another site at Dedworth Manor due to begin works. The sites will be hardened to prevent encampments. The Head of CEP explained the borough had looked at a range of options to reduce risks and local residents were being consulted with directly on local proposals. The works were being programmed and would be rolled out by the end of the financial year 2018. A bid had been submitted for funds for the financial year 2019 and if that bid was approved, further sites and works would be identified. He added the current works being carried out would be continued between now and March 2019 with a possible continued programme into the next year before the next traveller season began.

Councillor Da Costa asked what measures had been considered and what legal measures were considered. He asked if the Borough could talk to residents and as what measures they would prefer to see at Dedworth Manor. The Head of CEP responded that the Borough had looked at injunctions and it was unlikely that a judge would grant an injunction and a judge was likely to ask what hardened measures had been implemented before issuing an injunction. He added that due to the lower levels of encampments experienced in the Borough, it was unlikely the borough would be able to secure a pre-emptive injunction. The Borough would talk to residents in Dedworth Manor and would also consult on the range of possible measures.

Councillor Da Costa stated in 2018, £80k had been made available for the measures. He asked how much the Head of CEP was proposing to spend in 2019. The Head of CEP replied the team was seeking another £80k but he did not know if it would cover all the Borough’s sites that had been identified. The first site that had works carried out had cost less than originally estimated as materials from other sites were re-used so all costs will be  based on a site by site basis.

Helen Price asked if a permanent site for travellers had been identified in the borough. The Head of CEP stated the Council was in the process of looking at the needs of the travellers and discussions were taking place as part of our Planning processes and that the way forward would be revealed in time. Councillor Bowden stated there were clean-up costs, requests for travellers to move on and hardening measures that had to be implemented. The budget needed to be there. Helen Price asked when a decision would be made regarding a permanent site for travellers being made available. Russell O’Keefe, Acting Managing Director confirmed he did not know the timetable but, the whole process was at the options stage at present. Councillor Bowden stated it was a flexible situation and that was the best response the Council had at that time.

Car parking machine replacements – River Street and Victoria Street

Neil Walter, Parking Principal stated the Council had completed the procurement process for 116 Pay & Display parking machines to be installed across the Borough. The new machines would work with cash and card and would accept Advantage Cards. The aim was to have them installed by the end of the week commencing 10 December 2018. Four machines were being installed at the River Street car park and four were to be installed in Victoria Street car park. Expected completion of all machines being installed across the Borough was February 2019.

The Parking Principal stated a number of issues that had arisen were being dealt with on a daily basis and resolved. The software used in the parking machines was currently very unreliable which was why the Borough was changing the machines. A capital bid had been submitted to replace all the street parking machines in Eton and Windsor.

Councillor Bowden asked if there had been any vandalism in River Street which had affected the parking machines. The Parking Principal confirmed there had been vandalism to two newly installed parking machines and that two of the three machines installed were affected within 24 hours of being installed.

The Parking Principal stated there was ongoing abuse of the Advantage Card. There were approximately 80k Advantage Cards in circulation and all of them were live as far as the car parking machines were concerned. There were individuals that were using Advantage Cards that had been found fraudulently in order to pass on discounts.

Councillor Quick stated she was delighted the new machines would do the job. She added she was shocked to be the only person queuing up to pay for her parking that did not know you could input any four digit number into the machines to receive a discount. Councillor Quick asked how much revenue had been lost to fraud and inappropriate use of Advantage Cards. The Parking Principal confirmed it was impossible to say but there was a 7% to 11% increase in Advantage Card use, but that could have been down to the fact parking charges for non-Advantage Card users had increased. The vast majority of residents used Advantage Cards or, used the free tariff for on street parking.

A local resident said she had tried to use the lifts at Victoria Street Car Park one evening but they were not working. The Parking Principal confirmed the Council Enforcement Contractors turned the lifts off when they went off shift in case someone got stuck in a lift and there was no one on site to assist.

Windsor Riverside Development and Windsor Link Railway (WLR)

Councillor Bowden read out an update from Barbara Richardson, Managing Director of RBWM Property Company Ltd, which said “the Council were currently awaiting the outcome of an application that the Windsor Rail Link had put forward to Central Government. The outcome of this application could have a requirement for public owned land to be made available to assist with the delivery of the WLR project, should it get approval to go ahead. The Council would revisit in the summer of 2019, once the Council had received the outcome of the application to central government”.

Councillor Bowden stated the railway arches had been sold by Network Rail to a private consortium. A number of the arches were hidden and the Council did not know what the developer wanted to do with them. Any development work the Council could consider at the Riverside site needed to be put on hold till it was known what was happening with the Windsor railway arches or WLR. That was the current position.

The WLR had competition in the form of the Western Line Railway that was a £1bn DfT development which would service the airport. Spelthorne was looking at getting a railway line from Terminal Five to Staines to link with Waterloo in the form of a light railway system which was a £300m scheme. That all put any commitment to develop at Windsor Riverside at a standstill.

Councillor Da Costa said he had two key concerns; the traffic flow in Windsor and a lack of parking. He asked if the Council could ensure any future proposals offered solutions. The Chairman responded he did not think he could offer any assurances due to all the different possible schemes. He confirmed the Riverside development was not being shelved, it was just at a standstill. Councillor S. Rayner stated if the Riverside development did go ahead, an application would need to go through the planning process and a transport management plan would need to form part of that application.

Councillor Bowden stated if the WLR got the go ahead from central government that would trump any planning decision made by the Borough. An application from WLR to central government brought the issue forward. The railway would need public land to be made available. Russell O’Keefe, Acting Managing Director stated the Riverside piece of work was to look at options. That had been done and the next stage was to choose an option to progress forward, but that was on hold until the outcome of the WLR application to central government. He added it was always going to be a piece of work that came forward. Helen Price said she did not know what the outcome of the consultation on Windsor Riverside was or, what options were chosen. Councillor Bowden stated the Council had come to a full stop at that time due to the application being submitted to central government by WLR. He added he had mentioned proposals from Staines and the Western Line so there were three projects potentially ongoing at present.

Helen Price asked what happened to the results of the consultation. She said Councillor Dudley stated he was working with WLR so what has happened. The Acting Managing Director said the Council needed to wait for the outcome of the WLR decision from central government, so until the outcome is released, the Borough had paused any development of the Riverside site.

Helen Price stated people might lose their homes due to the WLR and residents were not hearing from the Borough regarding the proposals, they are hearing from the developer. Another resident stated there was the threat of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) on 58 properties in the area and 50 properties were being blighted due to the publicity. No one looked at the other side of the story; people were trying to sell their homes, George Bathurst said he would find people new homes but, no one knew if he had the authority to do that. The resident added that Castleview Home had been blighted and the residents distressed as they did not know what would happen to them. Properties were blighted as well as Bridgewater Terrace; homeowners were unable to sell their properties and they felt they would not be able to remain in Windsor as they could not afford the house prices. People wanted to live out their lives in Windsor but could not with a CPO on their houses. Bathurst said residents wanted the WLR but, residents had carried out a survey and not one of them supported the proposal. Councillor Rankin told residents that the Council was against the WLR but, it did not look like it was. The resident added to look out of their windows, they would look directly onto the tunnel being dug; it would ruin national heritage and residents had been marginalised.

Councillor Bowden stated he was not in support of it, he was a central Windsor resident and there were parts of the plans missing. As a candidate for 2019, he was against it. However, as a Council, the Borough had no opinion on it as the application was with central government. The Consent to Develop application used by Heathrow was also used by WLR. Residents responded that the Council was sitting on their hands, the Borough could be more proactive to reject it. She asked if the Council could contact central government and tell them that residents did not want the WLR. Helen Price said there was a letter from the Leader to Chris Grayling which talked about the WLR with warm words, the WLR could really happen and it was very worrying.

Councillor Cannon stated it seemed to him that the proposals were about foreign consortiums buying land and building houses on it and it did not matter if the railway worked. The Acting Managing Director stated it was not going to be a Council decision and that very few of those types of schemes ever got approval. He did not know what was going to happen, and he did not know the developer had said those things. National railway schemes took a long time to get through but, it would need national approval. Councillor Da Costa said it was a terrible scheme that would blight the Town. He requested that it be minuted that residents were not in approval of the scheme and that disapproval be shown to Chris Grayling. A local resident stated she did not understand the difference between the WLR and Heathrow. It was a government decision but the Borough opposed Heathrow very vocally yet would not give a view on WLR. She went on to say she had met no one that wanted the WLR and she did not see why a consultation could not take place to gauge public opinion; residents were furious.

v  Action – The Windsor Town Forum Chairman write to Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary, and express residents’ concerns regarding the proposed WLR scheme and also, highlight residents’ objections to the scheme.

Borough Local Plan (BLP)

Russell O’Keefe, Acting Managing Director stated he had received a letter from the inspector requesting some more work on flooding. The letter had been published on the Council’s website; since then, more sequential testing had taken place. As with the Local Plan processes, it was not unusual to be asked to do more work during the examination. The Borough would then consult again before it went to the next hearings. He was unable to give a timeline as that was down to the inspector.

Helen Price said she only saw the letter that afternoon and the letter requested the Borough to have a lengthy pause before resubmitting. The inspector was very careful about the wording they used so that was a big message asking the Borough if it was sure it only wanted to pause. The Acting Managing Director said the inspector was encouraged to put that standard wording in the letter when substantial work was required. It did not mean the inspector was encouraging the Council to do anything other than to do the work. It was not a setback. The examination was complex but he was confident as ever the Borough would get an adopted BLP; the Borough just needed to do more work on flooding. He added he was confident the inspector was confident and the BLP will be adopted. Helen Price asked when the Borough would finish the extra work. The Acting Managing Director confirmed there would be a few months’ of work and then it would be consulted on and then the Borough would have elections so,  hearings would not take place until 2019 but, that was up to the inspector over when that will be.

Aviation Forum

Councillor Bowden stated Heathrow’s third runway had the go ahead. He was on the Heathrow Community Engagement Board (HCEB) and at one point, he was in favour of Heathrow abandoning the CranFORD Agreement to share the Boroughs air traffic over Windsor. Heathrow then decided not to abandon the agreement and morphed it into part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) which he then felt was bad planning. HCEB was an organisation that represented everyone except RBWM and a strategic review was undertaken by five Boroughs excluding Windsor which had overhead air traffic. When he asked why RBWM was not represented, he was told he was not a Member of Cabinet so had no authority to ask any questions.

Councillor Bowden stated there was good attendance at the Windsor Town Forum and he would like the same for the Aviation Forum. He urged residents to assist the Borough as he felt they had no idea what the third runway had in store for the Borough. Enhanced Time Based Separation (ETBS) would produce an extra 25,000 movements even before the third runway goes ahead. ETBS allowed aircraft to swing in at six miles out and there will be a lot more noise to the west. He invited all residents to the Aviation Forum where rail links and motorways were also discussed as people had to get to and from Heathrow.

A resident stated they had lived in Windsor a very long time and this was the first time they had heard about the Aviation Forum, but they wanted to do more and help. Councillor Bowden stated he had written to the press to publicise the meetings but they had not been published. The Borough publicised the meetings of the Aviation Forum and there were articles on the work of the Aviation Forum published in the Borough’s publication Around the Royal Borough. There was also a complete list of all meetings on the Council’s website. Councillor Quick stated if residents had access to wifi, they could go on to the Council’s website where all meetings, agenda and minutes of all meetings were listed and the website was kept up to date. Councillor Da Costa said he agreed with residents that the Borough needed to make a greater effort to publicise the Aviation Forum meeting. He then asked if Councillor Bowden had reprimanded the HCEB for not being represented at Heathrow. Councillor Bowden responded he was Deputy Lead Member and the Leader of the Council was considering promoting him on a pro bono basis just for the aviation issue. He added that the local MP to his knowledge was against the third runway and had written to the relevant bodies in objection as often as he could.

York House

John Holland, a local resident to York House stated he had raised the issue previously regarding the parking at York House being made available to residents during out of hours working times and at weekends. There was a transport plan which said the public use of the car park should continue. Rob Large had said there should be a transport co-ordinator and so he was alarmed there was a risk to continuing the facility; he wanted someone in authority to confirm the position would not change.

The Acting Managing Director responded the plans for York House had changed and the Council was looking to let more of the building. The ground floor would be used by the Council to have meetings and a customer service function. The Borough were actively marketing the top floors to provide an income for Council services.

With regards to the parking at York House, the Council were looking to ensure the parking did not affect residents and there would be public parking for out of hours times. The Borough would talk to tenants to try and secure parking for residents but, the Council needed to make best use of the site so, the plans for York House had changed since previous discussions. The Borough were trying to let the floor space in a way that best benefit residents. The Acting Managing Director confirmed that the business case for the site was sound. John Holland said £10m had been spent on building York House too big and residents were promised nothing would change. The Acting Managing Director explained the building stacked up as a development and for a return on the development. What had changed was the Council decided to let out more of the building. The Borough would continue to try and stick to what was previously discussed and provide out of hours parking for the public. John Holland said residents were told they would have out of hours parking and that had changed. The Acting Managing Director said the Borough would continue to try and find tenants that agreed to those terms. John Holland responded that public parking would be sacrificed.

Councillor Quick said she understood public concerns. The Windsor Urban Development Management Panel voted at a planning meeting to approve the planning application for York House provided public parking was provided. The Council needed to lease the building to provide income but, the original agreement still stood. A decision would have to be made if the Council was unable to lease the building while still providing parking for the public. A resident stated that until a time where the Council is unable to lease the building, the Council should assure residents that parking would be provided.

Councillor Bowden stated the Council had set out its position. Thames Court had 80 spaces but employed up to 420 staff. The Council restricted vehicle movements by restricting parking permits. The Borough still had buildings to let to raise funds with only a certain amount of spaces. The Acting Managing Director said there was a space on the ground floor that could be let to a third party that the public could use. Residents asked if that meant anyone could walk in and have a coffee if it was let to a coffee shop, they asked if cycling clubs could go and have a coffee at York House. They added it was taking a commercial aspect and moving that to the Sheet Street side of Windsor Town Centre away from the High Street or Peascod Street. The Acting Managing Director said there might be provision there and that people could cycle there if they wanted to. Residents responded saying they were alarmed at the Council’s speculative move into commercial property. The Borough needed housing and offices of the right size. John Holland asked which body would have the ultimate decision over parking at York House. Councillor Quick responded she believed it would have to go back to the Planning Panel if it was called in as it was a planning condition. Councillor Cannon commented the situation happened so often; planning permission was granted and then the application goes back and changes. The Council tells residents one thing but then it goes back and gets changed. The Acting Managing Director explained Councillor Quick was talking about a variation to planning conditions. Property decisions could be taken by Cabinet or by a Lead Member and Head of Service. The Council needed to raise money to run discretionary services through a range of ways and that included property portfolios.

Councillor Bowden stated the Council would have to announce any changes to parking through press releases. Councillor Shelim said the easiest way to notify residents would be to let Ward Councillors know what the potential decisions were before they were signed and agreed, so that Ward Members could tell their residents. Councillor Quick asked if there was any likelihood of needing to relax parking conditions, Councillor Bowden confirmed the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Windsor Urban Development Management Panel would be notified.