Residents are invited to make suggestions on agenda items for future forum meetings and ask any questions that they may have.

The Chair asked for any questions or item suggestions.

Gareth Jones informed that he was a member of WAMCLT (Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead Community Land Trust), which sought to provide housing for the community, and that they had an interest in the Borough Local Plan (BLP) sites. He asked if there were any updates on the BLP sites AL21 and AL22 in west Windsor. As Chair of the Windsor Development Management Committee, Councillor Tisi stated that the outline permission for the BLP near Aldi in the west of Windsor was approved in early 2023, and the reserve matters (details of the design of the plan) would be forwarded to the Panel shortly (likely in October 2023). The other site had been built.

Raewyn raised concerns regarding the speed (or lack of speed) of planning enforcement in regard to the removal of the signage, fencing and enclosure of the pathway at Alma Road and Vansittart Road. While appreciative of the support from local Councillors, she stated that residents were nevertheless concerned of the lack of speed of enforcement and this being regarded as of medium importance, and therefore little clout in regard to resolving the issue. Rewyn sought to re-emphasis the concerns of this issue and acquire more support that the land was recognised as a green area since the mid-1980s (including the pathway). She reiterated that Planning Enforcement was slow in resolving the issue, which started on 30th May 2023 according to Rewyn, and was a cause of concern for nearby residents. According to Rewyn, yesterday afternoon, the private owners of the land had moved the fencing due to the nearby highways works. She stated that this allowed residents to use the walkway more efficiently. But when it was fenced off again, she described the pathway as “look[ing] ghastly” and not being maintained in anyway.

The Chair stated that she was aware of the issue. Councillor Wilson responded that he shared the concerns about the aforementioned piece of land, mentioning that he regularly cycled down the pathway, and understood the frustration with the pace of planning enforcement. He stated that he was ensuring that Planning Enforcement Officers were aware of this as well as understand their process. He stated that there was a challenge in communicating with the landowners, and that, as far as he was aware, planning enforcement had not contacted the owners, adding that this was a problem. He nevertheless perceived this as a very high-risk site. He informed that he was planning to catch-up with the Planning Enforcement Officer within the week and receive an update from them. He perceived that the actions within the Planning Department moved quite slowly, to which he apologised for, as well as contacted the local PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) in anticipation of some additional work taking place and an opposing demonstration taking place. Overall, he considered this issue as very serious, particularly as it was a green space.

While appreciative of the support from local Councillors, Raewyn then raised that there was much concern about a third planning application (since 2010) around the old Imperial House site.

Jon Davey asked about the name change of the Forum. The Chair replied that there was a suggestion from residents in the Forum meeting in May 2023 to change the Forum meeting from ‘Windsor Town Forum’ to ‘Windsor Forum’ on the grounds that the Forum covered the whole of Windsor. When Jon Davey queried on the areas the Forum encompassed, the Chair informed that it covered the unparished wards of Windsor: Clewer and Dedworth East, Clewer and Dedworth West, Clewer East, Eton and Castle, and Old Windsor.

Raewyn commented that the discussion around the name change was to be make the Forum more inclusive of all areas of Windsor.

The Chair reiterated the request for tree management and Vision for Windsor on the next meeting agenda. Councillor A. Tisi suggested an item from Visit Windsor.

Anil Singh requested that, as part of the Vision for Windsor update, the quick wins would be included and potentially circulated before the next meeting. He stated that he had seen two dates for the next meeting: one time stating 9^th November 2023 and another time mentioning 8^th November 2023. He therefore asked for clarification on which was the correct date. When the Chair directed the question to Laurence Ellis, he replied that the recent rearrangement of Cabinet and Full Council meetings had meant that the dates of other meetings had to be moved, including Windsor Town Forum. Therefore, the confirmed date was Thursday 9^th November 2023.

Nigel Griffin asked if any lessons had been learnt around consultation, stating that work on the refurbishment of the Footbridge had stalled and a response was received after a minor demonstration and some press coverage. Councillor D. Davies replied that the lessons learnt included ensuring businesses knew what was going on and that communication needed to be improved. He informed that this would hopefully be improved with a new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system which was going to be installed.

When asked by the Chair about delays surrounding the work on the Footbridge, Chris Joyce stated that as a result of feedback from businesses, the programme was altered whereby works on the lift and the bridge were split rather than both worked being simultaneously. The works on the lift would take place first, which would enable the bridge to remain open during the Christmas period. The works on the footbridge would take place after Christmas period whereby the footfall would be low.

Chris Joyce then stated that a lot of the issues surrounding the works on the Footbridge were based on the Borough having an agreement with Network Rail, for which they insisted that they pick up the discussions with businesses and The Arch Company as part of that engagement. He stated that this was not picked up as well as it was hoped. From this, he stated that the lesson learnt from the Borough’s perspective was that it was important for it to be close to local businesses and ensuring that they were receiving the information they needed. Overall, Chris Joyce stated that the Borough listened to the feedback, and as such changed the work programme, and therefore the impact on businesses as a result of the works would be improved.

Councillor A. Tisi expressed appreciation to Chris Joyce and the rest of the Infrastructure Team for their work in relation to the Footbridge.

The items suggested for future Forum meetings:

·       Tree management

·       Vision for Windsor

·       Visit Windsor