Rob Large, Property Service Lead gave a brief update on what had been happening at York House since the planning permission had been granted. He explained that York House was now empty and all staff had been relocated. Contractors were carrying out intrusive investigations and construction was expected to start in approximately two to four weeks time. The works would take around 12 – 14 months to complete. York House would be a three storey building with no increase in parking provision and would be a grade A office building. The ground floor would host the new and improved customer services offering.

Mark Taylor, Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate stated the Council had merged the customer services centre and Windsor Library into one building which was one of three service hubs in the Borough. The Windsor Hub delivered the same services previously obtained at York House and the merge took place on 1 June 2017.

There was an extensive range of services at Windsor Library and was not only housing back office functions but, customer facing services. Revenue and Benefits were now operating out of the library and there was a partnership in place between the council and the Citizens Advice Bureau which was available at the Hub once per week. The hubs had extended opening hours during the week till 7pm and were also open at weekends. The Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate added the Customer Services Centre telephone service had also extended their hours of operation to match those of the Hub,

The Property Service Lead confirmed that Thames Valley Police (TVP) had decided against signing contracts which would have meant they shared the site at York House. It was a mutual decision which was jointly announced due to the possible difficulties in obtaining planning permission for the TVP building. The police had advised they would be looking for an alternative site in Windsor.

Richard Thomas, Regent Court Residents Association said the residents association had attended various meetings and there had been two different planning applications for the site, he wanted to know which application would be going ahead. The Property Service Lead confirmed that the later application submitted in March 2017 had been withdrawn as the deal with TVP was no longer going ahead. The council would not be submitting any further planning applications for additional buildings on that site.

Gary Williams, local resident stated that he had been having difficulties reaching the duty officer out of hours and that he had found the telephone service very frustrating. He added there was a time limit for calls which meant that before you get through to the right person, the phone cut out and dropped the calls. The Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate requested the specifics on the case had said he would look into the issue personally. He added that the out of hours number was the same and had not changed. There was a duty officer on call a the control room and there was also duty emergency planning officers which were on a rota system and consisted of senior officers where one of them was always on call on a rotational basis. He added that he was not aware of calls cutting out but he would talk to the IT officers and investigate. The Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate stated that the council had not been rated as a good performer in the past with regards to the telephone service; but the council had made significant improvements recently. There was a large volume of calls received in the run up to the General Election in June 2017, which caused a spike and the service had to hire and train new members of staff so that the new seven day service could be covered. Currently the telephone service was operating at 80-90% good service. David Scott, Head of Communities and Highways stated he was on the rota as a senior duty officer and the system in place was working well. The number to contact the out of hours service was 01753 853 157 and whenever the main service was not available, a duty officer was on call. There was also an arrangement in place to ensure that someone with the right experience to deal with incidents could be contacted.

v  Action: Mark Taylor, Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate to investigate with IT why calls to customer services were timing out with.

Robert Muir stated York House would be a major construction site in a sensitive area opposite Victoria Barracks. There would be dangerous equipment being used on site a short distance from public crowds and soldiers, he wanted to know if construction personnel were going to be security checked and if the Ministry of Defence had been consulted. The Property Service Lead explained that within a few days of planning permission being granted, he had met with senior officers in the Army who confirmed they were happy with the arrangements in place. Senior officers within Thames Valley Police had also been consulted and were also happy with the arrangements. On the run up to the closure of York House, there were plain clothed security on site but, the police felt that did not feel it was necessary to have those plain clothed security officers on site during the construction.

Gary Williams stated trees next to the barracks had been removed, he suggested planting trees on the opposite side of the street to balance out the greenery. The Chairman said he had asked officers various questions on tree planting and that the loss of trees had been noted. The Head of Communities and Highways said because of the barriers now in place, there would be a review on where replanting could take place following the final security measures being implemented. Two trees were removed as they obstructed CCTV views and alternative locations for trees were being looked into.

Gary Williams said two parking spaces had been lost on Park Street due to the temporary barriers being installed. The Chairman responded the barriers were put in front of the barracks which took up three or four spaces and due to residents complaints, the barriers were moved. He added he would look into the issue with the loss of parking due to the barriers at Park Street and see if anything could be done.

Brian Rayner asked if residents could use the parking facilities at the Windsor Library while they were not allowed to park outside York House during construction. The Chairman said the library was not big enough for residents to use for parking as there were very limited spaces.

v  Action: the Deputy Head of Library & Resident Services, Communities Directorate and the Chairman to write to officers responsible for parking to request residents be allowed to use the library car park for parking while York House is under construction.

The Property Service Lead confirmed that the owners of the old Morrison’s site had been approached by the council to see if they would allow residents to use their car park as the site was not in use but, Morrison’s declined. Residents wanted to know where Willmott Dixon were going to park during the construction of York house. The Property Service Lead confirmed that a construction management plan would be agreed between the construction firm and the planning team. They were to use to surface car park for large truck deliveries. They would have to agree to the plan prior to construction taking place. He added larger lorries had to go onto site and not park on the road. Occasionally, just for loading and unloading, the lorries might need to park on the road but generally, there would be no parking on the street. The Property Service Lead also confirmed that any gates and barriers to be installed at York House would not be installed till after staff had moved back in, unpacked and taken delivery of all furniture.

v  Action: The Property Service Lead to ensure the Construction Management Plan is published once agreed.

Susy Shearer wanted to know if the bus stop outside York House would be moved. The Property Service Lead said talks were taking place with the Highways team as the contractors wanted the bus stop moved temporarily while the works were carried out at York House.

A local resident wanted reassurance that the cladding used on the outside of York House was fire resistant following the tragic events that took place at Grenfell Tower in London. She also wanted to know what the hours of construction would be;  requested a telephone number of the contractor so that there was a point of contact to resolve any issues, reassurance that the council would make sure the condition of the over ground car park would be put right following construction and finally, what the business case was for spending £9m on the refurbishment. The Property Service Lead confirmed that the cladding would be entirely non-combustible. A work plan would be circulated to residents that covered the hours of work for the construction. Wilmot Dixon was writing to all residents regarding contact details and as soon as the plans were signed off, an exact date for the start of the works would be included in the letter circulated to residents. The Chairman stated that the arrangements for the external car park at York House before it closed would remain in place and not be used out of hours to protect residents. The business case for the £9m refurbishment would be made available in a few weeks time. The Property Service Lead said that with regards to the cladding, there would be no air gap between the cladding and the front of the building. He added that there had been a lot of misleading information out there regarding how fire retardant cladding was and a lot of the tests carried out had been put into some doubt. The council’s previous choice might have been fine but, to be certain, the council had chosen a more expensive and completely non-combustible type of cladding.

Local residents wanted to know if the finance for the project had been arranged and if the rates were fixed in order to pay for the refurbishment. The Property Service lead said that the finances for the refurbishment were not being released but that the council was not borrowing specifically against that project and if the council did, it would be at a very low fixed rate.