To receive a presentation on the work of Shopmobility from Peter Haley.

Peter Haley, CEO People to Places, provided the Forum with an update on the work of Shopmobility.

Peter Haley informed the Forum that Shopmobility had operated since February 1996 and was operated by People to Places since June 2010. People to Places was a registered charity and company limited by guarantee.

They provided the following services based in two offices, Shopmobility Maidenhead and Shopmobility Windsor. Membership allowed the day hire of mobility equipment from either centre, up to 6 days a week, with free parking. 

Equipment owned by People to Places included:

·         53 mobility scooters

·         6 powered wheelchairs

·         6 powered strollers

·         24 manual wheelchairs

·         4 walking frames

They were open 6 days a week, 9.30 am to 5.00 pm with 2.4 FTE staff, plus two volunteers for mobility equipment maintenance and one volunteer for admin support.

The Membership fee was £16 or £9 on Income Support equivalent. Day and extended hires were also available. Revenue income was via a grant from RBWM for £50K, plus up to £3.5K from memberships. Donations and grants were also received from time to time. People to Places had recently supported by a substantial legacy from a previous supporter, plus a grant from Lions Club of Maidenhead for five scooters.

They also provided facilities for extended hires and car transportable hires, in the  summer months they provided guided rambles suitable for scooter users.

With regards to the future, Maidenhead was tracking at around two thirds of the pre-pandemic long term trend, this was around 6,000 hires per year or 19 hires per day. 

The return after pandemic had plateaued with their projection for this year at only 3,500 hires for 2022/23 or around 11 hires per day, but this was dependent on the response to a temporary accommodation move. 

The organisation had been informed by the RBWM Property Company that Shopmobility Maidenhead was to be moved as soon as the Vicus Way car park was completed, possibly in November/December 2022. Shopmobility would be moved to West Street car park, along with Blue Badge parking too. On the plus side, there would be a direct link to Sainsbury’s for food shopping and the opportunity for substantial signs off the A4 Bath Road. The new Shopmobility facility included a bespoke office and storage space on the Ground Floor. After a meeting had been held with Tim Golabek in March 2022 regarding dropped curbs for the new temporary accommodation, he was unable to confirm the current situation regarding timescales, planning permissions, utilities, services and permissions.

Other future plans included:

·         Promote the organisation to maintain and increase usage and support the ‘purple pound’.

·         Continue to promote the day and extended hire options which were available.

·         Encourage local business support through the BNI Maidenhead Chapter.

·         Contact local hotels and other accommodation businesses to see if they would promote a “mobility” service.

·         Support other local events through the Shopmobility service.

Councillor Singh commented that he was concerned that there were still doubts over the temporary accommodation which had been provided, he asked if Shopmobility provided equipment for event organisers. He was informed that equipment was provided for events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show but there was always a need to consider parking.

Councillor Baskerville asked if there was secure storage for the equipment. He was informed that they were stored between the two offices and that they were looking to buy new equipment.

The Forum noted the update.