Growth & Opportunity

To approve & adopt the Vision for Windsor, note the progress made within the report and authorises delegation to the Executive Director of Place to proceed with the preparation of a full working plan and Programme Management including a set of task and finish groups.

Cabinet considered the report that outlined the Vision for Windsor.

Councillor Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Council & Cabinet Member for Business, Corporate & Residents Services, Culture & Heritage, & Windsor, introduced the report and stated that it was a very exciting paper for Windsor as a town. She stated that the Vision for Windsor was a vibrant, thriving, and welcoming town for both the local and global economy. In the past few years especially, Windsor had held significant events such as the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, where over 60% of the world’s population viewed the town on television. It was noted that the current administration had also formed a successful Windsor tourism partnership board, which was funded by key successes such as Access Able.

Councillor Rayner stated that work with the Prince’s Foundation began around 18 months ago, where a paper was scoped and brought to Cabinet in March 2022, where they were commissioned to conduct an enquiry to design a placemaking project. Since this time there had been extensive public exposure including drop-in sessions, scoping workshops, and the World Cafes amongst others. The project aligned very well with the council’s corporate plan, which Councillor Rayner then outlined the individual goals that the project adhered too. She noted that just that day the Jubilee Fountain had been installed, the Castle Hill project was now underway, and the railway bridge project would also soon be commencing. She thanked Ben Bolgar, Prince’s Foundation Trust, for his hard work during this process. The Chair stated that he wished to second this proposal to move officer’s recommendation.

Andrew Durrant, Executive Director of Place, thanked his team and all officers who had worked extremely hard on the Vision for Windsor over the last few months and also Councillor Rayner for her presentation.

Ben Bolgar expressed his passion for Windsor and said that there were unbelievable assets on offer in Windsor. He stated that entering into Windsor on the train was a lovely view, however perhaps once you entered the town it may not be as such, and that is where the Vision for Windsor would come into its own. He stated that there was excellence engagement both online and in-person and that when all of these groups of persons come together, exciting initiatives were put on show.

The Chair said that during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a great need to improve the economic development of Windsor as it was an international symbol. He thanked Ben Bolgar for all of his work and looked forward to working with him closely in the future on this.

Councillor Rayner proposed officer’s recommendation, with this being seconded by Councillor Johnson.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the progress made within the report and

i)               Approved and adopted the Vision for Windsor outline report produced independently by the Princes Foundation Trust and noted that there will be full preparation of a set of milestones and main objectives for the next 12 months.

ii)             Authorised delegation to the Executive Director of Place, (in consultation, where relevant, with responsible Cabinet members) with responsibility for the Vision for Windsor Project to proceed with preparation of a full working plan and Programme Management including a set of task and finish groups.