To receive an update from Chris Joyce, Assistant Director of Infrastructure Sustainability and Economic Growth, on the Vision for Windsor.

Chris Joyce, Assistant Director of Infrastructure Sustainability and Economic Growth, gave a presentation on the progress for the Vision for Windsor.

Starting off with some context, the Vision for Windsor was a development project managed and undertaken by the Council-appointed Prince’s Foundation back in April 2022. From there, a large number of engagement sessions with stakeholders, residents and community groups took place between August and November 2022 which lead to a vision being developed. This was then adopted by Cabinet in February 2023.

The feedback was collated together to develop a vision statement across a number of different areas. The statements, Chris Joyce perceived, referenced discussions around a conflict between the local community and global community, and thus raised questions on how to balance the needs of residents with the desire and the demand which came from the internationally recognised assets in Windsor, particularly Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park.

Coming out of the workshop sessions, five strategies were formulated alongside a set of actions under each strategy (totalling to around 21 actions) to deliver the Vision. The five strategies were:

·       Gateways and Arrival,

·       Town Centre Movement,

·       Character and Uses,

·       Public Realm,

·       Local Governance and Community Partnerships.

Work on the Vision had begun, though there had been a short pause due to the local elections in May 2023 and the transition to the new administration. A workshop was held on 11^th September 2023 for RBWM officers as a starting point to develop a long list of potential opportunities based on the work undertaken for the Vision. There were three key themes:

·       What the Council was already doing in moving towards the Vision,

·       Any potential quick wins based on the Borough’s knowledge of those areas, and the work that's already in development.

·       Identify some longer-term strategic plans which would take longer and therefore start developing them.

On the back of the feedback from the engagement workshops, RBWM officers would work with the new administration to establish their priorities based upon the Vision. There would be a prioritisation process to develop a shorter list of potential projects, taking into account some funding opportunities, particularly in the quick wins.

As part of the process for the Vision, RBWM officers sought to put key stakeholders, communities and residents at the heart of the development of some of the key projects around the objectives and scope, as much of the strength of the Vision came off the back of much engagement from them.

Chris Joyce mentioned that there was an opportunity to utilise Windsor Town Forum to shape some of these projects. He suggested to bring back the Vision for Windsor item at the next Forum meeting in November 2023, bringing back details and some quick wins for further discussion and to acquire input from residents and Forum members to help shape the work.

The projects which were in progress under each strategy included:

·       Gateways and Arrival

o   Refurbishment works at the coach park bridge and lift.

o   Windsor to Staines Bus route, alongside an upcoming Cabinet paper for supported bus services.

o   Car parking ‘facelifts’ as part of the ‘Welcome to Windsor’ project.

·       Town Centre Movement

o   Recent improvements on Stovell Road and Barry Avenue.

o   Improvements to wayfinding in Windsor.

o   Investments into cycle parking

·       Public Realm

o   Works at Castle Hill Public Realm.

o   Installation at Platinum Jubilee fountain.

·       Local Governance and Community partnerships

o   Directory of community partnerships in development.

o   Working group being established to look at a register of landlords to improve the knowledge and information on owned properties in Windsor and therefore engage with people around how the town could develop.

After thanking Chris Joyce for the presentation, Duncan Reed, a resident, perceived that the listed activities were only “small, minor projects fiddling on the edges” and that he did not see a vision. He believed that Windsor needed great consideration on a major re-engineering of the layout and how things worked. Chris Joyce responded that he agreed and that this was the purpose of the Vision: setting out some bigger and bolder ideas which could be taken forward. One of the key themes taken out of the recent workshops was quick wins in which the Council was already doing: minor works which could be done quickly with small amounts of funding.

As part of that work, there were also larger longer-term strategies, such as traffic flow and managing car parking, and coach arrivals, which would be delivered over a longer period. Chris Joyce suggested this could be brought back for further discussion to flesh them out. He reassured that there were large and small projects, but added that it did not mean smaller, short-term projects would not be worked on now while a longer-term plan was being developed.

Duncan Reed responded that the little projects in the meantime should be building up towards a larger objective.

Adding to Duncan Reed’s point, Sarah Walker conveyed that the purpose of the Windsor Vision was for a vision for Windsor. She stated that in spite of there being many strategic ideas, significant resident engagement and a vision being formulated, she perceived that the workshop for RBWM officers on 11^th September 2023 was “watering down” the work which had been done. She reiterated Duncan Reed’s point that a proper formulated plan was needed, coming out of the vision and strategy. Chris Joyce denied that the Vision for Windsor was being watered down. He explained that the workshop was formulating more detailed planning on the long-term strategies as developing them would take a lot of work, as well as identifying the feasibility of some of the ideas. He added that the works would need to be prioritised due to the limited amount of resources at the Borough. In the short-term, the Borough sought to continue the drive improvements through the quick wins. Essentially, the workshop was not about watering down, but rather prioritising the short-term works and progressing the feasibility studies on the larger projects. It was more about how to turn the idea into reality and how to develop a plan. Chris Joyce stated that clearer worked-out plans could be presented at the next meeting in November 2023.

The Chair liked the idea of a list of quick wins for the next Forum meeting.

Nigel Griffin, a resident, asked who was responsible for setting the budget, where the finance was coming from, and which elected Councillor was championing the project. Answering the first questions, Chris Joyce replied that the workshop on 11^th September 2023 included discussions on identifying existing funding streams which could be directed to some of the projects, such as central government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Fundamentally, the Borough’s budget was set at the Full Council meeting every February. As the projects would require money and people’s time, the prioritisation work included working with the administration to determine what money could be put into the budget as well as prioritise where officer time should be spent.

The Chair then pointed out that Councillor A. Tisi was the Lead (Cabinet) Member for Windsor. Councillor A. Tisi informed that she was involved in the Vision for Windsor project, such as taking part in some of the stakeholder meetings, and then stated that it was important the project did not get shelved and be forgotten. She stated she looked forward to working with Andrew Durrant, Chris Joyce and the rest of the team to develop it. She added that she started talking to local businesses in Windsor about their involvement with the project and that they and the Borough could draw together the Windsor Town Partnership and Visit Windsor strategy so that they could potentially help deliver the Windsor Vision project, as well as the works relating to these could delivered collectively rather than separately.

Raewyn, a resident, asked what sort of residents were involved in the engagement meetings in relation to the project currently and in the future. Chris Joyce replied that the meeting on 11^th September 2023 was attended by Council officers and was to develop some of the project ideas into greater detail. The Vision for Windsor was written with a lot of input from residents and was to continue to have residents at the heart of it, whereby individual projects were shaped in partnership with residents so that the objectives and scope were clear and being achieved. This was part of the reason why the item was brought to the Forum and for the suggestion of bringing the item back to the Forum.

The Chair pointed out that the documents for Vision for Windsor had listed the stakeholders which were involved in the decision making.

Being the Councillor for Eton and Castle ward, Councillor Wilson commented that the Castle part of the ward was a key part of the Windsor Vision, and that he and the other Councillors from the ward (Councillors J. Tisi and D. Davies) had been heavily involved in speaking to residents, businesses and RBWM officers on the issues to acquire and represent residents’ views. He stated that there was much discussion on some potential concepts and projects, such as one-way systems and pedestrianisation. He stated that this was an exciting time in which he was enthusiastic to be a part of and would continue to be a point of contact for residents.

Anil Singh highlighted that Windsor lacked a cinema and a live music venue in spite of having many other features, namely many restaurants and Windsor Castle, which made Windsor a popular tourist destination. He asked whether the Vision could consider a cinema and a live music venue or club (like a jazz club). Chris Joyce replied that while the Borough could not force a jazz club to be opened, it nevertheless was engaging with agents and landlords to diversify Windsor and attract businesses and services. Chris Joyce added that the Borough sought to work with residents and visitors to bring forward facilities in which they would use in the Town Centre. He stated that he would take this away.

Adding to Chris Joyce’s answer, Paul Roach stated that one of the upcoming developments was the works around Windsor Yards, which was approved in May 2023, and that this would include a three-screen boutique cinema.

ACTION: Vision for Windsor to return to the next Forum meeting in November 2023.