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Ask us about COVID-19 Now’s the time to submit your questions for the next public meeting of our Outbreak Engagement Board on Monday 17 May, which is again being live-streamed from 2.30pm. Submit your questions in advance by emailing our democratic services by midday Friday 14 May. You won’t be able to ask questions during the session. Find out more about our COVID-19 outbreak plan on our website and also see the answers to your questions from the previous meetings. To join this meeting, visit our YouTube channel where it will appear once it starts. These meetings are also being recorded so if you miss them, you can watch them at your leisure.

Elections Thank you to everyone who supported and voted at yesterday’s elections and referendum. The results of the Cookham and Eton parish elections, and the Windsor neighbourhood plan referendum, will be published on our website later today. The results of the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner elections will be published on the Cherwell District Council website on Monday. To learn more, visit our website.

New fines for dog foul and anti-social cycling From Wednesday 9 June, you could be given a £100 fine for failing to:  Clean up after your dog Putting an out of control animal on a lead if asked to do so by a police constable or authorised community officer You could also be fined for cycling in pedestrianised areas of Maidenhead High Street, or Peascod Street in Windsor. These two new Public Spaces Protection Orders are aimed at tackling dog foul, dog control, and anti-social cycling in the Royal Borough. To learn more, read our press release.

Advantage Card - Your May offers This May, make the most of your Advantage Card by getting free on the day entry to Windsor Castle which is due to reopen on Monday 17 May. Half term activities at the castle are due to start on Saturday 29 May. Visit the Windsor Castle website to book and learn more. Maidenhead Royal Basketball Club is also offering a 10% Advantage Card discount on training for children aged seven to 16-years old. Visit the Maidenhead Youth Basketball website for more information. Don’t have an Advantage Card? Find out how to apply, its local discounts, and our monthly special offers on our website.

Mayor and Deputy Mayor re-elected Our new Mayor and Deputy Mayor were re-elected during a short virtual ceremony at our annual council meeting earlier this week. Councillor John Story was re-elected as Mayor, and will continue in the role until May 2022, with Councillor Gary Muir also re-elected as Deputy Mayor. Read more in our press release.

Climate change: reduce your power usage As part of our climate change campaign, we’re encouraging you to reduce the amount of electricity you use at home. Unplugging your phone or laptop charger, once your device is fully charged, or installing low-energy bulbs are easy ways to cut down your power usage. But there’s a huge drain on your electricity you may not be aware of - standby mode. Even if your devices – PCs, TV, monitors, printers, and wireless speakers for example - aren’t turned on, but still switched on at the wall, they can cost you hundreds of pounds a year. It’s estimated standby mode makes up 15% of the annual UK domestic electricity usage. If you want to do more to cut down your energy use, consider speaking with your energy supplier about getting a smart meter fitted. These handy little gadgets help you track the amount of energy you use, and how much it’s costing you. This summer, we’re installing new, energy-efficient, classroom lighting in schools across the borough. This work, funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, will reduce the carbon footprint and energy bill of these schools. To learn more about our climate campaign, read our press release.

Get involved in local town forum meetings If you’d like to have your say on issues affecting Maidenhead and Windsor Town centres, we want to hear from you. You can suggest discussion topics for the Maidenhead Town Forum or Windsor Town Forum as well as attend and contribute to the virtual meetings. Agendas are published a week in advance, so you can see what councillors will be discussing, and get involved if there’s a topic you’re interested in. Your discussion suggestions will be added to a future agenda if appropriate. The next Maidenhead Town Forum meeting is on Wednesday 18 May, and Windsor Town Forum is on Wednesday 26 May. To learn about how to get involved, email mark.beeley@rbwm.gov.uk (for Maidenhead Town Forum) or fatima.rehman@rbwm.gov.uk (for Windsor Town Forum). You can watch the meetings live on our YouTube channel.

Staying fire-safe with hearing loss As part of Deaf Awareness Week (ends 9 May) Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is sharing practical advice to keep people with hearing loss, and those who care for them, safe in the event of a fire.   Although traditional smoke alarms save lives, it says deaf-friendly alarms, which use strobe lights and vibrating pads, are better to make sure everyone is alerted.   Anyone with hearing loss may be eligible for a free visit from RBFRS to check each room for potential hazards, fit free ten-year smoke alarms, and help create a fire escape plan. Find out more on the RBFRS website.

Have your say We regularly hold consultations to get your views on proposals within the Royal Borough. Responding to our consultations and giving your feedback is the best way to ensure your views are heard. Our current consultations are: Coppermill Road trial traffic calming scheme – deadline Sunday 9 May Windsor Town Council consultation – deadline Wednesday 2 June Consultation on changing the age range at Wessex Primary School - deadline noon Thursday 3 June Single person discount review – ongoing consultation Developing proposals for new school places - provide comments on the feasibility studies for school expansion – ongoing consultation More information can be found on the consultations pages of our website.

M4 closures The M4 is due to be closed in both directions this weekend between junctions 6 (Slough), and 8/9 (Maidenhead), from 8pm today to 6am on Monday. The M4 will also be closed next weekend between junctions 6 and 8/9, from 8pm on Friday 14 May to 6am on Monday 17 May. Visit the Highways England website for more details on the M4 smart motorway scheme.

Keep in touch Keep up to date with news and information from the council by signing up to Nextdoor and following us on Twitter and Facebook. Other accounts you may be interested in: Royal Borough official tourism web page.   Libraries on Facebook and Twitter. Windsor & Royal Borough Museum web page. MyRoyalBorough on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Make Maidenhead on Twitter and Facebook.