To receive a report from Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager.

Paul Roach, Windsor & Eton Town Manager, began his update by apologising for not sending out a report in advance of the meeting. He said that due to a very full Christmas programme, he had worked 40 days straight and therefore had been on annual leave since boxing day. 

Paul Roach briefly outlined some key statistics from HM Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and procession. 900 stewards were deployed within Windsor on that day, with around 85-100 of those being volunteers. Over 6,000 police officers were deployed to manage security arrangements. Around 102,000 people attended the funeral cortege in Old Windsor, the Long Walk and Home Park. Over 500,000 visitor movements were recorded during the week prior to the funeral.

Paul Roach said that a number of businesses in Windsor held a royal warrant and that anyone within the next 18 months who held this, would have to close/discontinue certain products or stores. A warrant would have to be obtained for King Charles III. A bank holiday was said to have cost the UK economy roughly £2 billion.

In terms of footfall for December, Paul Roach said that levels were beginning to look very similar to the pre-pandemic levels that were seen in 2019. November and December levels were in fact higher than the 2019 numbers. The total number of visitors to Windsor to date was 7,132,033, which was up 23.3% on 2021. The busiest day recorded was Christmas Eve, which saw a footfall number of 33,624 visitors, with a peak time of 2pm.

Paul Roach said that parking levels had generally been lower than 2019 levels, however they were increasing. The level of coach park figures were still very low, although it was seen that there was an increase in international visitors coming to the town centre. He then mentioned some new stores that had opened in recent months, with some currently under development/offer such as Greggs, Zara Plus and Chicken House.

Paul Roach then shared some images with the forum members, which showed the enormous turnouts that were seen in Windsor during the Christmas period. These included the Christmas Lights switch on, the living advent calendar, the Windsor Yards Festive Weekend, Carols on the Hill, Windsor on Ice, and the Windsor Brewery. Some events had only 80 people attend, but then some saw up to 300 visitors.

The Chair thanked Paul Roach for his update and used her powers as Chair, to invite any questions from residents first before forum members. A Windsor resident, said that in the town, there were vast amounts of overgrown vegetation such as hedges and trees. Along the pavements also, particularly around the Victoria Barracks and all along Sheet Street, there were an enormous number of weeds growing through cracks in the pavement. He said that during the summer months, if similar heat was seen as it was during 2022, then these would cause a danger to residents and likely ignite. He implored for the borough the tackle this issue as a priority. The Chair appreciated his comments and said that Paul Roach would look into this offline along with his team and also Councillor Bhangra who was Cabinet Member for that area.

Mr Griffin, resident from Windsor, then came forward and thanked Paul Roach for his presentation, but also expressed concern that his updates were always looking back at the successes and what had come to pass. Whereas residents wished to look forward to the future and to see what was planned and up and coming within Windsor. He then expressed major concerns over the stairwell and the bridge that linked the coach park to the train station in Alexandra gardens. He said that the state of it was a disgrace. He pleaded with the forum to make it about the future and to stop looking at the past. Paul Roach said that money had now been allocated for the walkway and that works were due to be starting very soon. The Chair said that this would begin in February along with the Castle Hill project in the Spring.

John Holland agreed with the points that had been raised about looking to the future and the forum becoming more effective. He said that he was one of the five people who attended the last forum meeting in November 2022, which was not a proportionate representation of the town’s population figures. He said when it appeared on the BBC News website, with words used such as ‘disgraceful’, the forum ought to have taken note of this. He asked forum members if they were happy with the way that the forum was conducted. He said that it was an irrelevance and only existed because residents were denied a Town Council.

John Holland then expressed concern over getting items onto the agenda, where he admitted you could, however, only to be considered to come to the next meeting in 3 months’ time. Urgent matters that residents wished to bring up at the meeting, were being delayed until a future meeting. The Chair thanked him for his comments and said that she was very happy to hear from residents and also wished to have the next meeting in-person, as it was a lot more engaging. John Holland asked for a future item on the agenda, where residents could ask questions of Councillors at the meeting.

ACTION: Resident Questions to be added as a standing agenda item.

Mr Griffin said that Windsor had lots of street parking, however there were very little Electric Vehicle Charging Points. He asked if a consultation group could be set up for Windsor residents to discuss the issue in question. He said that the current consultation that was out was useful, however Windsor specific was important.

ACTION: Oran to explore adding EV Charging points in Windsor to the next forum meeting in collaboration with the Chair.

Ed Wilson asked Paul Roach about the IHG group moving into the Windsor Dials and what impact it would have on the town’s economy. Paul Roach’s response was that up to 600 people would be moving in. It was likely that this would be phased in gradually, but the effect would be a very positive one on the town’s economy. The Chair said that IHG encouraged its staff to shop within the town centre. There were also a number of vacant office blocks in the town, and that some offices were currently being refurbished and offered out for rent.

Ed Wilson’s second question was on the resident’s parking discount scheme and referred to it being run by MI5 as it was so secret! Were there any plans to promote it in Central Windsor over the next few months. Paul Roach said that the scheme was not necessarily a secret one and that promotions of the scheme did occur but acknowledged that more could be done. He added that there had been no significant drop in car parking numbers.

Councillor Wisdom Da Costa suggested a Task and Finish Group to look at the forum and the way that it runs and asked residents if they would be interested in getting involved in that to better shape the forum and align it better with the Constitution. The Chair thanked him for his suggestion and said that this could potentially be looked at offline.

ACTION: Oran to discuss with his team about the feasibility of a Task & Finish Group before May 2023.

Councillor Price said that she had been denied the opportunity to incorporate the points made in the Constitution on the town forums and again 6 months ago, she asked for the Constitution to be looked at too. The suggested agenda item of air pollution was redirected towards the People Overview & Scrutiny Panel a few months ago as it was deemed a borough-wide topic and did not apply solely to just Windsor. She also said that the emphasis should not always be upon the town centre with all of the items too.

Councillor Knowles said that the forum was a ‘talking shop’ and that it was a pointless exercise. More residents turned up for the Dedworth forum, which was offline and set up by residents. He said that he was a strong supporter of having a Windsor Town Council.

Councillor Davey said that 3 years ago the same questions were being asked by the same people. He said that the Chair should be a resident and that the forum has served its purpose and unless it becomes resident focussed then it has no future.

Councillor Knowles said that the forum should be run the same as the other forums in the borough such as the Dedworth one, where residents ran it.

Mr Griffin asked why the Constitution was not on the website. Oran Norris-Browne advised the Chair that it was on the website and that he would include the link within the minutes.

Windsor Town Forum Terms of Reference - Part 6 D1 of the Constitution – Page 214.

Councillor Shelim said that the forum should not be made up of Councillors as they had the option to speak to officers whenever they wished, and that residents should come first and that they should be the ones asking questions of officers, not Councillors.