To include:

·         Update on the Council’s position on Windsor Link Railway and the Windsor Riverside Project, following decision by the Secretary of State.

·         Homelessness and SWEP update.

·         Installation of electric vehicle charging points update.

Windsor Link Railway (WLR) and Windsor Riverside Project

The Chairman stated the WLR proposal had not been accepted by the Secretary of State and therefore, the matter was closed. The Borough had noted in a local publication that the WLR had received another letter saying the Secretary of State was interested in parts of the proposal but, RBWM did not support any aspect of the project. The Chairman confirmed that he also was not in support of the project as both a Councillor and as a resident of Windsor, therefore the matter was resolved.

Councillor Dudley stated the promoters of WLR continued to make contact with the Council but, the Borough had no interest in the project and it was not viable. A Motion had been taken to Council in which a letter would be written to the Secretary of State and the local MP in favour of the Western Railway proposal. There had been no dialogue with WLR as there was no support for it.

The Chairman stated there was a proposal for a direct link from Terminal 5 at Heathrow to Staines and another from Terminal 4 at Heathrow to Bedfont. The Terminal 5 to Staines option had been successful.

Helen Price said the WLR had two phases. Phase one was to join the two Windsor lines together and the second phase was to join those lines with Heathrow. Councillor Dudley stated that the Council was not supporting either phase. The Council was supporting the Network Rail proposal on the Western Line and there was zero support for the WLR. Helen Price asked if the Secretary of State knew RBWM was not supporting phase one of the WLR. Councillor Dudley confirmed there was no need to contact the Secretary of State as he had spoken to his Minister over a week previously and explained there was no interest.

The Chairman stated that as the WLR had not been supported by the Secretary of State, that left the Council in a position to see what development could be undertaken at the Riverside location. That scheme had been delayed while awaiting the outcome from the Secretary of State on the WLR.

The Chairman stated the arches under the railway line had been sold to a private consortium so the Borough needed to consult with them and Network Rail to see what could be done in the area. It was a future project with consultations ongoing in the future. There was also an engineering process that needed to be carried out before anything could be done and the owners of Windsor Royal Station had to be consulted. All parties would need to be consulted before anything could move forward.

Homelessness and SWEP

The Chairman stated the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol was in place until March 2019 when the weather improved. The Council had provided a grant to the Windsor Homeless Project as they moved from the Baptist Church to Holy Trinity. He added that individuals that were staying the in the bus stops on the High Street had moved on and the bus stops were now clear.

Helen Price stated she acknowledged the work of More Than a Shelter that had helped get people off the street for 10 to 12 weeks. The Chairman said he would like to offer thanks on behalf of the Borough to all the volunteers, police and officers for all their hard work and he was aware of Churches Together that had offered shelter to those in need. Susy Shearer said she echoed the comments of Helen Price relating to More than a Shelter who had been asked to provide accommodation over a two week period. Councillor Dudley stated the Borough extended SWEP for an extra month at a cost of £80,000. The Borough would review the situation at the end of March 2019 and would potentially extend SWEP to the end of April when the weather was warmer.

Helen Price stated at the last meeting of the Windsor Town Forum, SWEP was discussed as a service offered to all. If someone had no local connection, they were offered one night and then sent back to the area they had come from. Councillor Dudley confirmed the Council had always had the option to passport someone back to the area they had come from. The Council offered accommodation until that passporting took place.

Parking Machines

The Chairman stated that any questions regarding the new parking machines would be better answered at the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel as it was such an in-depth subject, it was not appropriate to be dealt with at the Forum.

Councillor Dudley stated the machines were highly sophisticated and the Borough was able to monitor what was going on in every car park. The Borough received live data from the machines and officers knew when the machines were working and the nature of the fayres being charged; they were also very good at detecting fraud as the machines will flag up excessive use of Advantage Cards and block them.

There was an initial fault when the machines were installed as some Advantage Cards had barcodes which did not work. The machines had been tested since the fault had been rectified and they were all working well. Councillor Dudley added that he had asked for better signage and instructions to be installed.

The reason the Borough did not install the same machines as that of the National Trust was because the National Trust machines did not have the same functionality as their parking was either free or, people had to pay with coins. The RBWM machines were different as residents could use their advantage cards for a discount, pay with coins, card or pay by phone.

Councillor Dudley informed the Forum that as from 8 April 2019, Victoria Street Car Park would be free for residents from 6pm to 9am instead of the current 7pm to 9am. The parking machines were working fine although they could do with better instructions but, they were fantastic at providing large discounts with the Advantage Card.

A resident asked what the lead time was on getting damaged or faulty parking machines fixed. Later on in the meeting, Councillor Dudley confirmed that the lead time was four hours if reported by 3pm. If after 3pm then they would be seen to by 10am the next day. The Chairman said that Advantage Cards needed to be updated if they had expired in order to get the discounted parking. Councillor Dudley confirmed that residents would not have to pay for overnight parking at Victoria Street Car Park.

Electric Vehicle Charging Points

The Chairman stated four electric charging points had been installed near the Police Station in Alma Road and they were already in use. The Council is aiming to provide more charging points in the near future. Susy Shearer said she had encountered them and they did not look like charging points and asked if they could be more clearly marked. The Chairman responded they were as close to the edge of the kerb as they could be and the larger they were, the more obstructive they would be. The charging points had been discussed at the Highways, Transport & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel and the minutes of that discussion could be found on the Council’s website.

The Chairman requested members of the public attend a planning application appeal for a site on Alma Road on 26 March 2019 which had huge public opposition. The planning appeal was being held at Windsor Racecourse and he urged the public to attend to show the inspectorate how much Windsor residents were opposed to the planning application.i