Windsor Riverside Update
To receive an update on the Windsor Riverside area.
Minutes:
The Property Service Lead had invited representatives from GL Hearn to address the Forum. They highlighted the following key points:
Ø GL Hearn were approached by RBWM in 2017 to undertake a feasibility study to look at options for the Riverside area
Ø They had a remit to expand how the area and integration between areas could be improved.
Ø The consultant team undertook fact finding which then moved on to a consultation phase
Ø The team were now moving on to looking at possible options which included looking at planning development and the heritage aspects of the Town.
Ø They understood the local economy, property market dynamics and movements such as foot, car, rail and cycling.
Ø Windsor had many historic assets which needed to be thought about sensitively.
Ø The BLP was progressing and there were issues such as housing pressure and local environmental issues that were being examined.
Ø There was a lot of room for improvement in the public realm of the town centre for residents and visitors.
Ø The Town as a whole had a volume of surface parking which faced pressures as there was not enough.
Ø The Windsor Link Railway was an emerging option
Ø A draft report was being provided to the Council
Ø The team had met with a lot of Councillors, local groups, land owners and partners for the consultation to take place
Ø They had engaged with Forums and Neighbourhood Plan groups and businesses in order to get a clearer picture of the wider objectives
Ø Issues raised included:
o Parking – all groups said the issue was fundamental to how the Town Centre worked
o Many groups highlighted the importance of the coach park but queried whether it was in the right place
o Movement – there was a real sense of clear improvement to the public realm but there could be better wayfinding with pedestrian and cycle connections and opportunities to improve those.
o Visitor experience – needed to widen the appeal of the Town Centre and lengthen visitors’ stay and increase their spend
o Opportunities for new Riverside activities were raised by groups
o Stakeholders raised issues with car parks by the river – they should be a priority
o Urban and public realm – flagged wider green element to increase experiences; Alexander Gardens could be improved. The Urban Real had historic assets so would need to have a good heritage strategy
o The role of Eton in the wider offer should be considered as part of the Riverside strategy
Ø There was a merging set of objectives and the team were using them to guide their thinking around a range of options which would be discussed with Councillors
Ø Any changes needed to support and diversify the Town and work for residents, businesses and visitors.
Ø Overall, the team wanted to enhance the experience for anyone visiting Alexander Gardens
The Chairman started he was glad that lots of groups had been consulted. There was a lot of information to go through but ideas had to be discussed with Councillors in a workshop. All ideas and information needed to go before Members and then formulated at the Forum. The Property Service Lead stated GL Hearn were just setting out the objectives at that stage and the points articulated to the Forum were not at the ideas stage yet. He added he was looking at carrying out workshops with Councillors and options would go before Cabinet in due course and would be presented to the public.
Councillor E. Wilson asked how much the feasibility study had cost to date. The approach was engaging but he was concerned regarding the scope as it could creep wider. He queried how the scope was being managed. The Property Service Lead stated the scope was passed at Cabinet but he was not sure if it had been in Part II so he would need to go back to Councillor E Wilson with that information. The timescale of the study had been put back by a month to ensure all groups could be consulted. The next step was to consult with Members. Councillor E. Wilson stated the brief was too wide. People asked for something to be done that was not the point of the brief. If the scope was too wide, it could appear that residents and groups had not been listened to. The Chairman said his residents would say that heading towards Arthur Road, there was a lot of coach traffic so it made it difficult to talk about the Riverside area without addressing the traffic issues in Arthur Road as that road approached the Riverside area. It was the same for the entrance to the Riverside area where visitors needed to pass shops. The shop fronts needed to be addressed and improved. All of those things needed to come together and all of those needed to be addressed as part of the same thing. Councillor E. Wilson responded the brief needed to be very specific. It needed to ask for views but, if those views did not form part of the brief, residents would feel they had not been listened to. The representatives from GL Hearn stated the brief was very specific. Ultimately they were to produce a set of reports with topics that would be deliverable. Delivering tangible benefits which hopefully captured imaginations.
Councillor Alexander requested a milestone programme so interested parties and the Forum could see how the plan was progressing. The Property Service Lead said he had spoken to Democratic Services to organise a date for an all Member briefing in the coming weeks to share progress.
Councillor Bowden explained he did not want the options produced to be a rubber stamp for building on Alexander Gardens as they were and should stay as gardens. He added that as a resident, he had not heard anything about the consultation and there had been no signage or advertising about the consultation. He was concerned that GL Hearn would produce a list of options or a milestone report and residents would say they had not heard anything about it. The Property Service Lead confirmed the brief that was being implemented was passed by Council to get the process started. The Chairman said the reason the brief had started as a bit of a blank page exercise was to find out what all the issues for residents in the Riverside area were. He expected to team to bring back a list of potential ideas before Members that could be worked through before consulting with the public.
Councillor Quick requested a place be set up in Windsor Library where residents could meet with officers and make their views known. The Service Property Lead said he would look into that outside of the meeting and try and arrange something.
Local residents stated that it hadn’t appeared that any residents apart from residents associations had been consulted. A wider consultation was needed to include younger residents. Other residents requested that sessions for residents to express their views also be set up in Eton and Dedworth Libraries also. Helen Price said that the Windsor 2030 group were holding an event on this in the summer. She queried if their event could be dovetailed with library sessions so as not to duplicate effort. The Chairman responded that he would continue, with officers, to communicate the consultation and go further to obtain residents views and consult with residents.
v Action – The Service Property Lead to look into holding sessions at Windsor Library where residents can attend and express their views on the Windsor Riverside area and what they would like to see. The Service Property Lead to investigate how to communicate the sessions to residents.
v Action - The Chairman and the Service Property Lead to check the deadline for the Around the Royal Borough publication to see if anything can be included in the next issue highlighting the consultation and where residents could send their views.