The Director of Development and Regeneration, Chris Hilton, gave Members an update on the progress of the Windsor Link Railway.  It was noted that the Director of Development and Regeneration had joined the Council in the summer of 2014 and during his time at the Council had had a number of discussions with Councillor George Bathurst on this subject. 

Members were informed that the Windsor Link Railway Limited was a privately promoted project.

It was noted that to date the Council had not formally made a commitment or otherwise to this project.  Members were informed that Windsor Link Railway Limited main request was that the Council supported the project and granted options on Council owned land. 

The Director of Development and Regeneration explained that the Council first needed to assess the viability of the project, assess and risks associated with it and whether it would be sensible to allocate public funds to fund it.  It was noted that this could be done via the Neighbourhood Plan or a Referendum process to see if the public wanted to support the project.  Members were informed that over the next couple of months a paper would be presented to Cabinet regarding due diligence work so that a view could be taken as to whether the project should be taken forward. 

In the ensuing discussion the following points were noted:

·      That the Council would consult at a later date.

·      That the Planning Department was very busy at the moment and was in the process of recruiting new officers (New Regeneration Manager, etc).

·      Councillor Edward Wilson stated that as a private individual he would want the Council to do a feasibility study and do due diligence on it at no cost to him. 

·      The Director of Development and Regeneration explained that if someone had an idea to help the Council meet its housing targets the Council would work with them to help make it work.

·      That a Borough Local Plan was emerging which could potentially feature the Windsor Link Railway in it.  It was noted that car parking was also an issue including the flow in and out of Windsor. 

·      It would be Cabinets decision as to whether the Council wanted to spend money on due diligence and employing independent advisors if advisors were felt to be necessary. 

·      That the Director of Development and Regeneration would have to take advice as to which Overview and Scrutiny Panels the Cabinet report would go to.

·      The Director of Development and Regeneration stated that he believed a feasibility study would cost approximately £30,000. 

·      Councillor John Bowden questioned where the technical knowledge would be coming from and whether the stations would be large enough to cope with a ten coach train.

·      Helen Price questioned whether the project would be made up of phases and if felt unacceptable could the project be stopped at phase 1 to help reduce costs to which the Director of Development and Regeneration answered ‘yes’.

·      That the project had been ‘on the cards for seven years’.  That the Council had put an online survey on the RBWM website to get thoughts from residents.  It was noted that the statement asked for feedback on something of incredible magnitude whilst lacking back-up information on the project.  The Director of Development and Regeneration explained that this feedback was for the Borough Local Plan and whether there was an aspiration to include this project or not. 

·      Anne Taylor explained that the Windsor & Eton Society had sent a long letter back to the Council in response to the request for feedback mainly about the lack of information provided.  It was suggested that when the public consultation took place information about car park entrances and exits and the infrastructure of buildings needed to be readily available.  It was noted that the National Trust land implications should also be made clear rather than just the positive points. The Director of Development and Regeneration explained that addressing points of access would be addressed as part of a planning application. 

·      That over a year ago Windsor had been divided into two Neighbourhood Plans and that the business area had received information on the Windsor Link Railway project.  It was noted that at that time it had been argued that not enough sufficient information had been provided to cover such a strategic issue.

·      The Director of Development and Regeneration explained that he believed the Borough Local Plan should refer to the Windsor Link Railway as it was suggested as a possible solution to connectivity issues in Windsor. 

·      The Director of Development and Regeneration stated that he believed with two Neighbourhood Plans currently taking place an Area Action Plan (AAP) would be too much all at once and that the Council should wait for the Neighbourhood Plans to run their course and then decide if an AAP was needed.

The Acting Chairman thanked the Director of Development and Regeneration for the update.