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Complete our survey to guide priorities for four extra police officers dedicated to Royal Borough
You are invited to help shape the priorities for four extra police officers who will be dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in the Royal Borough.
We are investing in four additional warranted police officers for the Royal Borough, over and above the existing police establishment for the area, to support community safety and enhanced local partnership working between us and the police.
The first initiative of its kind within the Thames Valley force area, these extra officers will initially be in place for three years, and communities are invited to complete a survey to help guide which local policing and community safety issues should be the initial priorities for them.
To take part in the survey, which closes on Monday 20 March, please visit the RBWM Together website.
In addition, there are a limited number of spaces available for an event involving key partners on Friday 17 March, which will also help to shape the police officers’ priorities and partnership work involving them. If you would like to register your interest, please visit the Royal Borough Community Safety Summit webpage.
Learn more in our police priorities press release.
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Successful bid will see new school built for children with complex special educational needs
We have been successful in our bid to the Government to have a new school for children with special educational needs built in the area, further improving local provision for children with complex needs.
The Department for Education has selected the Royal Borough to have one of 33 new Special Free Schools being created nationally, which will allow more children with special educational needs to attend a school locally.
The new school will provide up to 100 places for pupils aged seven to 16 who have a complex range of Social, Emotional and Mental Health and associated needs identified in their Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP).
The planned location for the school forms part of a wider housing-led development site, known as Land West of Windsor, north and south of the A308, which is allocated in our Borough Local Plan.
Read our special education needs press release to learn more.
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Placemaking in the Royal Borough
During March, we’re taking a focus in the Resident Newsletter on our work with partners to drive inclusive and sustainable investment, growth and regeneration, for the benefit of our communities.
To kick-start our campaign, Andrew Durrant, our Executive Director of Place, explains more about our important “Place-making” agenda.
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An extraordinary place
The Royal Borough is an extraordinary place, rich in its natural assets, historical buildings, outstanding schools, iconic sports venues, and Windsor Castle hosting some of the most-watched ceremonial events the world has seen. But of course, it is also home to more than 150,000 residents who have a variety of needs and ambitions for the place they call home.
When we speak about “Place-making”, it is essentially the process of balancing all these elements to create a place where people and communities want to live, work, and play. Whilst also creating the right environment to attract investment and growth from business and central government. One critical thing Place-making must tackle is improving the quality of place whilst often managing opposition or concerns about change.
At the Royal Borough, as a place leader, we are working diligently with different partners and stakeholders to ensure that all investment and growth are supported with the right infrastructure, schemes are well planned as a statutory function and most importantly are genuinely inclusive for our communities both now and into the future.
Strategic Plans
In addition to the Corporate Plan, with a firm emphasis on creating thriving communities and inspiring places, our Borough Local Plan clearly sets out the strategic sites for development and regeneration for the foreseeable future. However, with an inclusive economy these sites are not enough by themselves. As an example, the borough is already working with key employment sectors, showing real growth locally that present exciting opportunities for our young people to take forward careers – the life sciences sector is a great example of this.
Town Centre Placemaking
Each of our major towns have either ongoing or recently started Place-making activity. It was pleasing to receive unanimous approval for the Vision for Windsor project recently and this year a number of schemes are anticipated to respond positively to local needs and issues identified. In Ascot, council officers have started work to reinvigorate the High Street as part of a previous scheme to enhance the public realm alongside future developments, and create more active travel opportunities and connectivity to our key transport hubs.
Equally, if we take Maidenhead and all of the opportunity it offers as the commercial centre of our borough, and now amazing connections to London with the Elizabeth Line, making it a great business location and place to live. Its increasing restaurant offer and high-quality schools add to its attractiveness as a town and its stunning river frontage and green spaces offer a very high quality of life.
A council delivering
We are certainly a council bouncing back after the challenges of the past few years. With an approved balance budget for 2023/24, we are in a good position to change gear when it comes to quality Place-making, whilst also creating greater confidence in the market for investment.
Here are just a few things to look out for this year
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Missing Links Infrastructure - Working with the Local Enterprise Partnership, we’ve recently completed the Missing Links cycle project to provide easy and safe access between the Town Moor to the North East of Maidenhead Town Centre and the railway station
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New Homes – Construction of the St Cloud Way redevelopment will shortly get underway on the site of the former Magnet Leisure Centre. Working in partnership with Countryside, this will see more than 400 new homes delivered, including affordable rent and shared ownership
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Decarbonising the council’s estate – We’ve secured £1.56 million to deliver low-carbon energy upgrades to schools in the Borough.
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Castle Hill & Fountain – Public realm upgrades in Castle Hill and St Alban’s Street will shortly get underway, which together with the new Jubilee drinking fountain will improve the overall experience for residents and visitors in Windsor town centre.
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Level 2 Cold Weather Alert for next week
The Met Office has issued a Level 2 Cold Weather Alert for across England, which is due to last from the early hours of next Monday 6 March until midnight on Wednesday.
A Level 2 means there’s a 60 per cent chance of severe cold, ice and snow during that time with increased health risks to older people, those with underlying health conditions and young children.
Please check in on your vulnerable family, friends, and neighbours to make sure they have enough food and medicine, and that their homes are warm enough.
For more advice on keeping well during cold weather visit the NHS website or Frimley Health and Care’s website.
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Calling all parents! Respond to your child’s school place offer
Calling all parents! If your child is moving up to secondary, middle, or upper school in September 2023, please respond by Wednesday 15 March to let us know if you wish to accept or decline the offer of the school place made to your child.
If you applied online using the Citizen's Portal, you will be able to log into your account to view the outcome and accept or decline your offer and you will also receive an email confirming the outcome of your application.
If you applied using a paper common application form or our Google online form, you will not be able to access the admissions portal and your outcome letter will be dispatched via first class post providing information about the outcome and how to respond.
To learn more, please visit our website.
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Thousands enter Coronation Concert local ballot
We have had a fantastic response to our ballot for one of the 500 pairs of free tickets allocated to our residents for the Coronation Concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday 7 May.
Almost 3,000 of you entered the ballot, which closed this week, for a chance to attend the once-in-a-lifetime concert the day after King Charles III’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
What do I have to do now?
The BBC’s official partner Ticketmaster will contact the successful entrants who have been randomly selected in both the local and national ballot.
If you’ve been successful, Ticketmaster will email you in the next few weeks with instructions on how to accept the tickets. You will then be asked to claim your tickets and confirm your attendance. You will have 14 days in which to claim your ticket and you will be sent reminders by email during this period.
The ticket will be hosted on the Ticketmaster site and must be presented on your phone when entering the event. Paper tickets are not available and are strictly non-transferable.
The information will also include security measures and practical information about the event like entry and exit points and timings. If you are not one of the lucky recipients, you won’t miss out as the concert will be broadcast live on the BBC for everyone to watch.
Good luck everyone.
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Guildhall history at a glance - eight facts about the backdrop for the Windsor Framework announcement
The Windsor Guildhall was the setting for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen to announce the historic Windsor Framework this week.
We asked the team at the Windsor & Royal Borough Museum to tell us more about the historical items that were in view throughout the broadcast of the announcement.
Eight things which can be seen:
1. Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead coat of arms – Windsor Castle is pictured on a hill with branches and the leaves representing the oak forests which once surrounded the town, along with a heraldic gold lion. The white horse represents Berkshire
2. Chandeliers on loan from Royal Collection Trust – George IV commissioned the three chandeliers (c.1828-30). Made of brass they each have 60 lights, which would have originally been candles. The third is hanging Windsor Castle’s Queen’s Guard Chamber
3. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II hangs directly opposite a portrait of Prince Philip. She visited the Guildhall on several occasions including as Princess Elizabeth the year before becoming Queen, and most recently, as part of her 90th birthday celebrations in 2016, meeting twenty 90-year-old local residents
4. Door to the Ascot Room where His Majesty King Charles married the Queen Consort, Camilla, in April 2005 in front of 15 guests, including William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. On 21 December of the same year, Elton John and his partner David Furnish, had their Civil Partnership ceremony on the first day they were allowed to take place in England and Wales
5. King George V and Queen Mary. The portraits were given to the Guildhall in 1917 to mark the family changing their German name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. The frames are made of oak from Windsor Great Park
6. Dais and throne chair - The Council Chamber served as a Magistrates' Court from 1690-1971, you can still see the raised area at the front of the room (dais) and railings where the Mayor, who was Chief Magistrate would sit. The man who attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria in 1882, Roderick Maclean, was tried for high treason here. He spent the rest of his life in Broadmoor after being found “guilty, but insane”
7. Carver chairs - The 26 carved wooden chairs are still used for functions today and bear the crest of the borough charter of 1276 and the Monarch’s Coat of Arms (originally Edward I) a deer representing the town and the castle
8. Royal portraits – There is an original painting of every Monarch since Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II (two of Queen Victoria and two of Queen Elizabeth II). The only exceptions are George I and II as they are rumoured not to have liked Windsor.
When the room is available, 40-minute tours can be booked on the day at Windsor Museum. Opening times and details can be found on the Windsor & Royal Borough Museum website.
The Guildhall can be hired for a range of events including weddings, civil ceremonies and corporate events. The Council Chamber can also be used for private dining opportunities and drinks receptions - contact the event team at the Guildhall to find out more (guildhall@rbwm.gov.uk).
Advantage Card holders also qualify for a discount on room hire.
Learn more on the Visit Windsor website.
Photo © 10 Downing Street
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Royal Borough libraries celebrate World Book Day
Thank you to everyone who visited our libraries for World Book Day yesterday.
It was great to see so many children dressed up as their favourite book characters, our team at Maidenhead Library also joined in on the fun!
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Last chance to take part in our World Café survey
Have you attended one of our award-winning World Cafés in the past year? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts and check if their format is right for you.
If you’ve not been to one, we’re also keen to find out why as it could be something we could solve.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in our survey so far, if you haven’t completed it yet you have until next week (Monday 6 March) to share your feedback with us.
Our World Cafes, run in partnership with NHS Frimley, bring local residents and community organisations together. The sessions are informal, allowing you to have honest conversations about what matters most in your neighbourhood, get support if needed, and work with us to find community-based solutions.
Every ward in the Royal Borough will have a World Café, and eleven wards have been visited already. The next one is in Boyn Hill tomorrow (Saturday 4 March), from 11am to 1pm.
The World Cafe survey is online and takes five minutes to complete.
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Discover the secrets of the Cranbourne Tower
Would you like to discover more about the colourful history of the Grade II listed Royal lodge in Windsor Great Park? Situated on the Windsor and Winkfield border, the tower was once part of a much larger and grander building, the origins of which date back to the 13th century.
Join us on Tuesday 7 March at 7.30pm at the Windsor Guildhall for a talk by expert speaker Leslie Grout in the regal grandeur of the Council Chamber at the Windsor Guildhall.
Guests will be welcomed with a glass of fizz in the Windsor & Royal Borough Museum at 6.30pm and will have the opportunity to see items on display in the museum before proceeding to take a seat upstairs in the Council Chamber at 7.30pm.
Learn more and book your tickets on the Visit Windsor website.
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Sign up for Parallel Windsor
You can now sign up and make history by volunteering or taking part in Festival of Inclusivity events at the inaugural Parallel Windsor 2023 on Sunday 2 July.
Taking place on the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park, the event will be open for all ages, health conditions and abilities, featuring a charity village, food and a range of activities including live music, arts and crafts, and more.
There is also the Start Together, Finish Whenever challenge events which range from 100m to all the way 10K.
If you have an Advantage Card, you can also get a 10% discount on tickets. Visit our website to apply for one if you don’t have one already.
Learn more and sign up today on the Parallel website.
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Royal Borough Community Spotlight
Here are just some of the upcoming community events in the Royal Borough:
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Real Lives 2023 (Tuesday 7 to Sunday 12 March) St Mary’s Church, Maidenhead. Join St Mary’s for a week of real life-changing stories. Glen Scrivener will interview a range of people with different but powerful stories about the impact of Jesus Christ on their lives and the real hope he gives. There will be six days of relaxed and informal events with refreshments and, on Saturday evening, a performance. earn more on the Real Lives website
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Chamber Philharmonic Europe concert (Thursday 9 March, 8pm) – Norden Farm, Maidenhead. Chamber Philharmonic Europe is an orchestra which recruits talented young musicians from 18 European nations. Founded in Cologne in 2006, it has achieved an outstanding artistic level and tours widely across Europe. Enjoy an evening of favourites for strings as well as Hummel’s wonderful Trumpet Concerto with soloist Cyrill Gussaroff. Learn more and book on the Maidenhead Music Society website
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Age Concern Windsor open morning (Tuesday 14 March, 10am to noon) – Spencer Denny Centre, Park Corner. Organisations, social groups, and support service suppliers will be coming to showcase what is going on in Windsor and what support is available. Everyone is welcome. For more information visit the Age Concern Windsor website, email info@ageconcernwindsor.org.uk or phone 01753 860685 Tuesday to Friday
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Charity Zumba Glow Party (Friday 17 March, 7pm to 8.30pm) – Furze Platt Senior School. Four local instructors will be taking part in the event which is raising money for Alzheimer’s Society, MS Society and Ovarian Cancer Society. Tickets are available by emailing nikisdancefit@gmail.com or calling 07976 831517
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Eton Action Fair (Saturday 18 March, 11am to 4pm) – Eton College. Now in its 48th year, the grounds of Eton College will once again be transformed into a charity fair including games, stalls, and performances organised by Eton’s students and staff to raise money for five charities supported by Eton Action this academic year. The College has arranged games and attractions for children and adults alike, such as The Ocean Express Play Bus, Berkshire Birds of Prey experiences, an inflatable assault course and much more. Learn more on the Eton Action Fair website
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Royal Free Singers 50th Anniversary Gala Concert (Saturday 25 March, 7.30pm) – Windsor Parish Church. The Royal Free Singers are delighted to be performing Mendelssohn's dramatic 1846 oratorio depicting events in the life of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, which was hailed as the Messiah of its day. The variety, beauty and energy of the many arias and choruses of this most popular choral piece make it a very fitting choice to celebrate their special Anniversary. Learn more and book your tickets on the Royal Free Singers website. Tickets are also available at the door and at the Royal Windsor Information Centre at the Windsor Guildhall
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Easter Fair (Sunday 2 April, 12pm to 4pm) – The Pirate Park, Windsor. An easter fair featuring craft stalls, a children’s farm, an Easter Egg hunt, bonnet making competition and more. Visit the Clewer and Dedworth website to learn more
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Thames Hospice Jazz Fundraiser (Friday 28 April, 6.30pm to 10pm) – The Old Court, Windsor. A Jazz Quartet from the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, performing music from the Great American Songbook, and Jazz standards in aid of the Thames Hospice. Learn more and book tickets on the Old Court website
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Take part in the Our Maidenhead mural (Thursdays, 2pm to 4pm) – Craft Coop Maidenhead, Nicholsons Centre. Join Maidenhead Craft Coop to celebrate Maidenhead’s rich heritage, colourful history and iconic landmarks as they create a mixed-media textile mural. Pop in on Thursday afternoons or visit the Craft Coop website to learn more.
If you have an upcoming not-for-profit community event or activity you’d like to promote in this newsletter, simply send basic information about your event to communications@rbwm.gov.uk and it could be shared with more than 21,000 local residents.
You just need to include a brief description, when and where it takes place, and a link to a website/social media page/contact where people can find out more.
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Have your say
We regularly hold consultations and surveys to get your views on proposals within the Royal Borough.
Participating, sharing ideas, and giving your feedback is the best way to ensure your views are heard.
Our current consultations are:
Other local consultations
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) are running a consultation on their Corporate Plan and Community Risk Management Plan feedback which closes on Monday 27 March.
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is also asking for views on options for a redeveloped or relocated Royal Berkshire Hospital. Take part in their online survey or visit the Building Berkshire Together website to learn more.
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Local Travel Updates
The A404(M) between junction 9b and the Holyport Interchange will be closed for the full weekend southbound from:
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9pm today (Friday 3 March) until 6am on Monday 6 March
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9pm on Friday 10 March until 6am on Monday 13 March
A signed diversion will be in place via the A4 and A308. Visit the National Highways website to learn more.
For details of council works on highways, visit our website. For full local
roadwork details, including work by utility firms, please visit the One Network
website.
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