To receive the above report.

The Chairman provided members with an update as Paul Roach, Windsor, Eton and Ascot Town Manager, was unavailable to attend the meeting. The update said that trading in the town centres remained positive and visitor numbers had continued to increase into October. All business sectors were now fully open but there had been a reduction in the number of office workers coming into the town centre, and this had impacted some of the businesses that benefitted from that trade. As a further update the Chairman stated that the office building at Windsor Dials was being refitted and approximately 400 people would be employed there from August onwards. A refit was also taking place at the building at the junction of Victoria Street and Sheet Street.

There would be a return to live events over Christmas, and there would be an online programme available to market the events taking place. Print versions would also be distributed to homes, shops and businesses. Members were shown a copy of the online programme via presentation slides.

Regarding the Hello Lamppost, there had been 4,639 interactions and 1,325 conversations with 853 unique users. The overall engagement score was very strong. Interactions showed users had a good first impression of Windsor and there was a positive consensus on food and drink options. Feedback was mixed on the cleanliness of the town and users returning to the high street after Covid, and some feedback indicated that parking in Windsor was expensive. Users felt public transport could be improved; the Chairman stated that a shortage of bus drivers had been reported.

The Forum was occupancy levels in Clewer, Dedworth and Ascot High Street remained high and most businesses were staying open. The Chairman advised that the former owner of CS Lewis butcher had passed away since retiring and closing the business, and that one of the barber shops that had closed in Windsor had since re-opened in Eton.

Councillor Davey complimented the marketing team on the Christmas brochure that had been produced. He compared the figures for the Hello Lamppost against the September report and noted there had only been 239 interactions in the last two months. Regarding the car and coach parking figures, he said it would be useful if these could be provided separately on future updates.

Councillor Tisi said it had been suggested previously the Hello Lamppost scheme would be rolled out to include Clewer and Dedworth and asked if there was an update on this. The Chairman said he was unaware of any news on this and advised Paul Roach would be able to provide any update.

Councillor Price said My Royal Borough had done an excellent job of promoting businesses in the town centre and asked if those outside the town centre were on the database. Councillor Rayner said My Royal Borough were encouraging businesses that wanted to be promoted to contact them if they wanted to be included in the database. The Chairman said he would contact Paul Roach on this matter.

Councillor Knowles said a good indicator of tourist numbers visiting Windsor would be to know how many people were visiting the castle. Councillor Rayner said visitor numbers were currently being restricted due to Covid; Councillor Knowles suggested a figure showing a percentage of the capacity would be appropriate. The Forum was reminded that overseas visitors, particularly from the main markets of the Far East and the USA, were not currently visiting Windsor due to travel restrictions.

It was noted that the Borough had been referred to as the Royal Borough of Maidenhead and Windsor in the media recently and members were keen to know how this had happened.

Resident Ed Wilson asked if a list of new retailers could be provided, noting that a number of new shops and restaurants had opened in recent months. He also asked if insights coming from the Hello Lamppost could be published, and for information to be given on what the Council was doing with this information. The Chairman said he would raise this with Paul Roach.

The Chairman stated that an open event was being hosted by Legoland to discuss its future development plans for the resort hotel was taking place from 2-7pm on November 24.