To receive an update from Andrew Durrant, Executive Director of Place Services, on events and projects in Windsor.

Andrew Durrant informed that his agenda item had been combined with ‘Item 5 – Town Manager Update’ due to Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager, being unavailable to present the item. He presented a PowerPoint.

Andrew Durrant gave a quick update on Operation Golden Orb (code name for the Coronation). A multi-agency event, it involved the Borough, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Thames Valley Police, the BBC and the Royal Household. He reported that the event went well.

Councillor Knowles highlighted that there was an issue with ticketing due to the Windsor area having poor Wi-Fi. Andrew Durrant acknowledged this and that issues around Wi-Fi remained in spite of external partners bringing in some additional Wi-Fi capacity into the footprint. He added that this was a takeaway for future events and something for the Borough to work on.

(Councillor Wisdom Da Costa entered the meeting at 6:46pm)

Andrew Durrant moved onto the Castle Hill Public Ream Project which was underway. It was primarily funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and CIL. It will provide a more pedestrianised area around Castle Hill, improve the pavement and reduce vehicle activity. On the whole, the intention was to promote and prioritise pedestrians.

Jess Hunter, a resident from Park Street, asked if there was any consideration on the project potentially creating a one-way street, expressing concern on traffic flows and restriction of travel for cars. Andrew Durrant replied that this was not something he was aware on; but he stated that he would speak to the Infrastructure Team to see if the issue was being considered and forward an answer to Jess Hunter. He added that traffic flows and impact would have been considered.

Reiterating Jess Hunter’s point, Louise Wilson, a resident from Park Street, raised the issue of traffic, parking, high pedestrian activity, partially caused by poor signage, and the potential danger this could cause. She stated that action was needed to resolve this. Andrew Durrant replied that there was no traffic going through the area as it was a construction site at the moment. Once this was done, there would be controls on vehicle access during the day and visitor hours to Windsor Castle, but there would be increased access around Castle Hill outside of the visitor hours which would help mitigate to mitigate traffic flow issues. He said that he could forward an answer to Louise Wilson alongside Jess Hunter.

ACTION: Huw Jones, Traffic Safety Manager, to be asked to forward details regarding concerns on traffic flow relating to the Castle Hill Public Ream Project to residents.

Continuing his presentation, Andrew Durrant explained that the work phases would continue throughout the year with a construction break in July and August. The project was expected to be completed in February 2024.

Councillor Wilson asked if there was any cost to RBWM on top of the funding for the Castle Hill project; and if the two sources of funding from LEP and CIL could have been applied to another area. Andrew Durrant replied that the funding coversedthe full cost in delivering the project and the funding was specifically for the project.

On Windsor Footbridge, Andrew Durrant informed that a budget and further funds from the Windsor Welcome project were secured to completely refurbish the Windsor Footbridge, including a redecoration and refurbishment of the green steelwork, the lifts and roof structure of the walkway. There were some delays to due to complex agreements and approvals with Network Rail. In addition, the scaffolding contractor stepped away from project which meant that a new scaffolding design had to be created and approved by Network Rail. The final scaffolding plan was close to being signed-off; from there, the project would begin.

Councillor Tisi, Vice-Chair, asked if the Windsor Welcome project included more than just the Footbridge. Andrew Durrant replied that the project did cover more areas and funding had been allocated, such as improved signage, car parking areas and generally enhance the ‘lack of care’ areas.

Zoe Binnie, a resident, asked if the renovations would encompass the opposite side of Goswell Hill, such as the Roadway Arch and Pedestrian Arch. Andrew Durrant replied that the project only focused on the green steelworks, walkway, stairways and lift. Zoe Binnie then asked how this could be looked at. Andrew Durrant answered that it would come under wider project work for the area. He added that there was a lot of work to do across Windsor and the objective was to prioritise and secure as much external funding as possible so that these projects could be realised. He suggested Zoe Binnie could email him and he could then inform her on this outside of the meeting.

ACTION: Resident to email Andrew Durrant who would then forward information on project works around Goswell Hill.

Andrew Durrant then briefly explained that monolith-like wayfinders across Windsor were being improved upon through external funding. He then covered footfall over the 12-month period with a slight increase in visitors and parking.

Councillor Wilson raised the issue of the flow of visitors moving in and out of Windsor. Andrew Durrant responded that he would pick this up with the team.

John Webb, a resident, asked if there was any budget available to improve neglected road signs across Windsor alongside the wayfinder improvements, claiming that there were signs across Windsor which have been reported for repair but were never refurbished. Andrew Durrant replied that the best that could be done was to keep a priority list within the Council team to try to address as many of these signs as possible. He added that he was open to reports on issues in Windsor being forwarded onto him to ensure the Council team had it on their list of tasks.

Councillor Wisdom Da Costa asked a couple of questions. Firstly, he asked how visitor numbers were calculated and why the business numbers have dropped below previous years for the first quarter of April 2023 in the build-up to the Coronation. Secondly, in relation to the Welcome to Windsor Fund, he asked if there was a possibility to open up access to the coach park from the Footbridge to The Arches to reduce travel distance.

Andrew Durrant replied that the units in the The Arches had car parking spaces and provisions. He was uncertain about accessibility but stated he would look into this. He then explained that the footfall was calculated by counters across Windsor. However, a more sophisticated method was being implemented with a package called Customer Insights which would use mobile and digital intelligence to track movements. He also expected a higher footfall figure in May 2023 due to the Coronation. He also stated that Paul Roach and his team would have more in-depth knowledge of how footfall figures worked.

ACTION: Andrew Durrant to investigate opening the coach park to improve accessfrom Footbridge to The Arches.

Andrew Durrant then showcased the events taking place in Windsor:

·       18 June 2023: Second Wind Band

·       25 June 2023: Windsor Community Orchestra

·       1 July 2023: St Margaret’s Band

·       2 July 2023: Wycombe High School

·       15 July 2023: BWCB Concert Band

·       16 July 2023: Burnham Concert Band

·       22 July 2023: The Sound Crowd

·       23 July 2023: Middlesex Yeomanry Concert Band

·       29 July: Cholsey and Wallingford Concert Band

·       20 July 2023: Trinity Concert Band

·       6 August 2023: Woodley Concert Band

·       12 August 2023: The Fabulosos Big Band

·       13 August 2023: Waltham St Lawrence Silver Band

·       9 September 2023: Barnes Concert Band

·       10 September 2023: RAF Halton Voluntary Band