The report outlines a suggested topic submitted by a resident for consideration by the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Topics can be suggested by residents and then considered by the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel for further consideration. Residents are able to access the criteria on the council's website.

The suggested topic received as follows: “Bike thefts are occurring in broad daylight outside Windsor Leisure Centre. This is worrying and children are having their bikes stolen.”

The Panel are asked to consider the report and decide whether any further scrutiny is required.

The Chair explained that a resident had submitted a scrutiny topic suggestion on bike thefts outside Windsor Leisure Centre. There was concern that young people were having their bikes stolen from outside of the leisure centre and requested that the council review this to see what could be done. The resident had a number of suggestions which could be implemented to improve the situation.

Tim Golabek, Service Lead for Transport, provided the RBWM response to the suggestion. The council were aware of the bike thefts at a number of locations including Windsor Leisure Centre. It was important to note that the responsibility lay with the individual in ensuring that their bike was properly secured however the council would do its best to provide safe locations. This location had recently been reviewed and last year the council had received a grant from Active Travel England and a planning application had been made to create a secure cycle storage unit. The storage would be managed by Spokesafe and a visual ID check would be required to enter the unit, with a small fee charge. Officers from the council should not be involved in dealing with thefts, this was a police matter. The police could provide residents with things like UV stickers to identify stolen bikes which should be utilised.

Councillor Carpenter said that the plans sounded good, there was a need for more cycle storage in Windsor and across the borough. She asked if the target user was for those using the leisure centre or for residents wanting to access the town centre. The cycle storage would be built on the recycling centre, Councillor Carpenter asked if this would be relocated. A small fee had been mentioned, Councillor Carpenter asked how much this would be. She concluded by asking who would be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the cycle unit.

Tim Golabek explained that the cycle storage unit would cost a significant amount of money but had been funded through the grant which the council had received. The unit could be used by both those visiting the town centre and also the Windsor Leisure Centre. This was the first project of its kind in the borough and Tim Golabek was keen to explore other locations where secure cycle storage could be implemented. The charge was £1 per use but a further discussion would need to be had around the maintenance of the unit between Spokesafe and the council. The recycling centre location was not deemed to be beneficial due to the amount of fly tipping, Tim Golabek would check with colleagues in the Place team to see if there were any plans to relocate this.

ACTION – Tim Golabek to check with the Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Services whether the recycling centre at Windsor Leisure Centre would be relocated should the cycle storage unit plans be progressed.

Councillor Sharpe felt that this was a narrow scope on the topic, he asked what was being provided for residents from other areas of the borough.

Tim Golabek said that the team did receive requests for cycle storage, the team wanted to roll this out across the borough but a substantial investment was needed. Further funds would need to be identified to bring forward further proposed sites in other areas of the borough.

Councillor Reynolds, Cabinet Member for Communities and Leisure, was exited that the secure cycle storage facility was coming to Windsor Leisure Centre. There would also be the ability for residents to repair and maintain their bikes in the facility, for example bike pumps. He encouraged residents to use the unit once it was installed as this could ensure that more storage units were created in other locations.

Councillor Reeves said that this was a good plan to deal with the issues of theft which had occurred in the area. It could be used as a test and could be reviewed after a year to see how successful the unit had been and how much usage it had received. Councillor Reeves asked if there was any criteria around the location which encouraged Active Travel England to give RBWM the grant. He questioned the number of bikes which could use the unit and whether any research had been done into the number of bikes which were left outside the leisure centre and how many of these had been stolen.

Tim Golabek explained that the council had been in discussions with Active Travel England about plans to make both walking and cycling more appealing to residents. Funding could be bid for on design work or delivery, this unit was felt to be a suitable addition to other active travel measures in the local vicinity. Things needed to worked through on the running of the unit with Spokesafe, the Panel should note that the unit was still subject to planning permission. Demand was difficult to predict and had been based on the number of bike racks which were currently outside the leisure centre. The size of the unit would greatly impact on cost.

Councillor Majeed asked if Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding could be used to fund further similar projects.

Tim Golabek confirmed that CIL could be used but this funding needed to be prioritised.

Councillor G Singh noted that the police were supportive and felt that the size of the unit was good. There was an issue with bike thefts in Maidenhead, he suggested that empty units in the Nicholsons Shopping Centre could be used as bike storage.

Councillor Reeves asked where the £1 fee charged would be going. He noted that children were having their bikes stolen, £1 in the current climate could be a deterrent for young people using the cycle storage. Councillor Reeves asked if CCTV outside the leisure centre was adequate to prevent thefts.

Councillor Carpenter asked if the council had sought the opinion of cyclists for their views of the proposed cycle storage unit. She suggested that EV vehicles could be charged for parking to provide further funding for cycle storage. Councillor Carpenter asked what would be done to prevent thefts of bikes which were not parked in this cycle storage unit.

Tim Golabek explained that the £1 charge was required to maintain the visual ID check system for Spokesafe, this would be monitored by officers to ensure that this was a fair charge. The council had not taken on this cost itself as it was open ended. It was understood that this could be a deterrent to usage but was needed to maintain a secure storage unit. Bike thefts were a police matter and were not the responsibility of officers at the council. There was a road traffic safety team who could educate cyclists on how to secure their bike properly. The CCTV would cover the proposed unit. The council had decided this was a suitable location for a cycle storage unit and Active Travel England agreed, it was impossible to know if the grant would still have been received if the council had submitted a different proposed location. Further bids could be made in future. On using empty retail units, Tim Golabek felt that this was a good idea and noted that an internal cycle hub was planned in Reading. The main issue was cost, the Nicholsons Shopping Centre would require a charge and the unit would need to be converted.

Councillor Carpenter raised the idea of charging electric vehicles to park to fund further cycle storage in the borough.

Tim Golabek confirmed that Cabinet were considering EV charging around the borough, once this had been decided any funding could then be considered.

Councillor Sharpe was concerned that the storage unit would be located some distance from the leisure centre entrance. He asked how many cycle thefts had occurred outside of the leisure centre.

Tim Golabek reiterated that the storage unit would be located around 150 yards from the entrance to the leisure centre. The topic was specifically focused on bike thefts outside the leisure centre, the team could explore other locations where there were issues if funding could be found.

Councillor Grove noted that there would be an ID verification system, in future this data could be collated and those who were in greater financial hardship could be offered a reduced fare to use the unit.

Tim Golabek said that there was a cost to storing the bikes, Spokesafe would be the data owners. If this was brought in house in future, this could be explored.

Councillor G Singh said that thefts were being under reported as residents were not reporting things to the police.

Councillor Sharpe said it was important to use the right data before decisions were made. He felt it was not clear why this location had been chosen, particularly with the amount of crime and also the demand for cycle storage.

Chris Joyce, Assistant Director for Infrastructure, Sustainability and Economic Growth, said that the proposal had been made to install a cycle storage unit outside Windsor Leisure Centre. The Panel could choose to look at bike thefts outside the leisure centre or around the borough in further detail.

Councillor Reeves believed that it was a good location, the cycle storage unit would help to solve the issues with thefts outside the leisure centre. It was important to consider those residents who could not afford the charge. Residents could also park their bike and walk into Windsor along the river. It was a positive step forward in encouraging residents to use their bikes. The only concern Councillor Reeves had was around those who would choose not to use the storage unit, as their bikes were still at risk of being stolen.

Councillor Carpenter felt that a piece of work could be undertaken to investigate thefts of bikes across the borough and identify the hotspots. It was important that groups like the Windsor Cycle Hub were consulted.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Place Overview and Scrutiny Panel noted the report and considered whether any further scrutiny was required.