To hear an update on the work of community wardens around the town centre.

Andy Aldridge, Community Safety Manager, explained that the new warden scheme had gone live on 1^st June 2021 and was primarily focussed on four key areas:

·         Anti-social behaviour and reassurance

·         Enforcement and operations

·         Crime prevention

·         Community engagement

Andy Aldridge discussed an example of some good work that the community wardens had recently undertaken, where a rough sleeper had been found in the recent floods. The community wardens gained the rough sleepers trust and he was now living self-sufficiently in a flat which had been provided, following a link onto the Rough Sleeper Pathway. There had been an increase in anti-social behaviour within car parks, there had been a 35% rise in calls focussed on the Nicholsons Shopping Centre car park. This mostly consisted of young people on mopeds and skateboards causing issues, but they still needed to be targeted using wardens resources. Knife sweeps in parks around the town had also taken place, with two weapons being found in Grenfell and Kidwells parks. The warden team had planned their operations, with dog fouling being a particular focus. The team had spoken to over 200 dog walkers, with a lot of them being responsible.

Over the summer months, there had been a lot of work done around river safety with new signs being introduced. Having multiple landowners along stretches of river often made it difficult to gain permission, but it was important people were aware of the dangers of jumping into cold water. The wardens were making sure that contractors were held to account with the CCTV and that all cameras were working effectively. Generally, there was excellent CCTV coverage across the borough but new buildings could sometimes impede this coverage.

The night time economy had been very busy in Maidenhead after the reopening of bars and clubs. Violence had increased but the wardens had been working extensively with Jeff Pick and Thames Valley Police to help deal with this. Violence reduction should be a priority and the warden team were looking to employ a violence reduction officer.

Councillor Stimson said that the wardens made a significant contribution to Maidenhead and she thanked the team for all their work and successes. She said that the skatepark in Kidwells park was causing issues as it was being used overnight, which created noise for nearby neighbours.

Andy Aldridge agreed that it was an issue that had been going on for a while. A fence of some sort could be needed to stop the park being used at night. Kidwells Park was a focus point for the wardens team, with the neighbourhood team working until midnight. Andy Aldridge encouraged residents to report any issues to the team so that they could be logged, each time an issue was raised it would add to the data and create a more compelling case to change things.

Councillor Davey suggested that it would be good to have Andy Aldridge also attend Windsor Town Forum to provide an update on the work of the wardens. He asked about the regulations were on private CCTV and things like video doorbells.

Andy Aldridge said that access requests were required to view council-run CCTV. It was important to abide by the regulations if using personal CCTV.

Councillor G Jones asked if the wardens had any power over electric scooters. He asked if anything could be done about the numerous cyclists that used the River Thames towpath.

Andy Aldridge explained that the scooters were under the remit of the police to deal with, they were not enforceable under the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). The issue with cyclists on the towpath was a frustrating one, wardens had spent hours stopping cyclists. The team would investigate what enforcement was possible, he asked that any information to be sent to the wardens so that they could investigate.

Doug Watts asked how big the warden team was.

He was informed that there were six wardens and one senior warden, who worked between 8am and 9pm.

Doug Watts commented on Desbourgh Park and said that there had been a number of issues in that area.

Andy Aldridge said that if the issues had been reported, the team could investigate.

Councillor Baskerville noted that there had been an increase in violence in Maidenhead and asked if there was any reason for this.

Andy Aldridge said that it could be around lockdown fatigue, with a significant amount being linked to alcohol consumption. There was also an increase in domestic abuse.

Councillor Bhangra thanked Andy Aldridge and his team for all their work. He commented on anti-social behaviour which had been taking place in Boyne Grove Park where there had been reports of youths congregating. There were also a number of mopeds using the A4 as a racetrack which was dangerous for other drivers.

Andy Aldridge confirmed that he knew that Boyne Grove Park had some issues but these usually occurred out of the wardens working hours and were therefore out of their remit. If information was sent through to the team it would be discussed.

Councillor McWilliams congratulated the team on the great work with the rough sleeper and building the trust with that induvial so that they could receive help and support. He asked if community wardens helped those on the street who were not homelessness but needed support. Regarding the night time economy, Councillor McWilliams asked if a night time strategy was needed and potentially a night time levy to solve some of the issues that had been occurring.

Andy Aldridge explained that it was often difficult to engage with some types of people, with sometimes the only option being enforcement. Any information was sent through to the rough sleeper team who could also provide assistance if required. The wardens did not want to send people to court but sometimes it was necessary. Regarding the night time economy, Andy Aldridge believed that Maidenhead would warrant a night time levy, in his personal view. It would be worth having a strategy just for Maidenhead to help deal with problems and to introduce new safeguarding measures, like the Windsor Angels who had been particularly effective in Windsor.

Doug Watts asked if cars being parked on footpaths was an issue that the community wardens could deal with. He asked if pubs and restaurants were paying for night wardens currently.

Andy Aldridge confirmed that if it was causing issues then it was a police matter. Clubs like ATIK in Windsor had a dispersal policy incorporated into their license which meant that their door staff patrolled the surrounding area at closing time.

Jeff Pick explained that a night time levy had been trialled in Windsor a number of years ago but did not work effectively.

Councillor Davey asked for confirmation that there was no levy currently.

Jeff Pick confirmed that there was not, but some licensing restrictions were very strict on things like dispersal policies and clearing litter and rubbish in the vicinity of premises.

Councillor Singh, commenting on the levy, said that he felt a levy would not be useful currently as a number of businesses in Maidenhead had been struggling. He said that a better solution would be to increase the number of community wardens.