Update - possible strike action next week

In the event of strike action from next Wednesday (31 August) by waste collection operatives in the GMB union, we are currently intending to carry out black bin, recycling and food waste collections from Wednesday to Saturday next week, but will be temporarily suspending garden waste collections. In the event of strike action, garden waste collections will be extended to cover the time when collections are suspended.

We will also be closing the Stafferton Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Maidenhead, in order to focus operatives on collections.

Please put out your black bins, recycling and food waste on your collection day and we will visit as soon as possible. Remember, because of the Bank Holiday collections will be a day later than usual and changes to collection days are available on our website. We’re currently planning to undertake all the usual collections on Tuesday.

In the event of a strike, some collections might be delayed, potentially to a later day, due to fewer crews available, so please be patient and continue to leave your bins out for collection. If there are any whole roads where collections are missed these will be published on our website for each day the strike continues. We won’t be able to collect any individually missed bins.

Please ensure all your waste and recycling is contained within your bins, and do not to leave any household waste in, or next to, public litter bins or in our parks and other open spaces.

We will continue to monitor the situation and liaise with contractor Serco, which as the employer is speaking with the union to seek a resolution as soon as practically possible.

Stay tuned to the news media, our website and social media channels for further updates on collection arrangements.

Electoral registration annual canvass: Ensure you’re registered to vote

Our Electoral Services team has just started our annual canvass, with emails being sent to residents across the Royal Borough in the last week. 

For residents or properties where we do not have emails, you will receive your initial paper forms by letter from 8 September. The annual canvass is undertaken to determine which residents should be registered to vote at each address. This information is used to update the electoral register for 2023 when we have Borough and Parish council elections in May.

If you are a resident for whom we have an email address you should have received an email. To record your response please visit the Register Securely website and check the register details for your household. The emails will have been sent from electoral.registration.rb.windsor.and.maidenhead@notifications.service.gov.uk. 

Where possible, we are encouraging residents to confirm their details online using the information sent to them, rather than posting paper forms back to us, as this is the quickest and easiest way to update the details for your household, and it’s more environmentally friendly too. 

For more information, visit our website, call 01628 683868, or email electoral.registration@rbwm.gov.uk.  

Hosepipe ban now in place

Thames Water has now put a hosepipe ban in place.

The ban means you should not use hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars and windows, or fill paddling pools.

You can save water by:

• Using a watering can instead of a hose to water your plants
• Watering in the morning or evening to reduce the water lost to evaporation
• Having shorter showers
• Reporting any water leaks if you spot them

Visit the Thames Water website to learn more.

Nicholsons car park partially closed

Earlier this week, we closed levels five and above of the Nicholsons multi-storey car park in Maidenhead to help protect public safety.

This follows two incidents of anti-social behaviour there, where heavy objects have been deliberately thrown from the roof level down onto public areas, putting people below at a high risk of serious harm. Fortunately, no one was injured on those occasions, but the story could have been tragically different.

With the full support of Thames Valley Police and the management of Nicholsons Shopping Centre, we’ve agreed to immediately remove the risk of a further repeat incident and protect the public by closing the roof level, plus the rarely-used higher levels of the car park which provide numerous access points to the roof.

Please continue to use the lower levels for now. The higher levels will remain closed for the foreseeable future and we will continue to monitor the situation, maintain increased patrols and continue to work with police.

If anyone has information to help identify offenders, please contact police on 101, the wardens on wardens@rbwm.gov.uk or 01628 685636, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For more information, read the full statement.

Grants available for not-for-profit voluntary organisations in Royal Borough

We're inviting not-for-profit voluntary organisations to apply for grants for community projects and activities that make a positive difference within their neighbourhoods.

Eligible organisations have until Friday 30 September to apply for a share of funding totalling nearly £91,000 across two separate categories, through the council’s Annual Grants Funding Scheme.

Capital funding totalling £75,000 is available towards capital projects, such as buying land, the acquisition, construction or improvement of buildings, and/or the purchase of equipment to provide new or improved facilities.

In addition, the council is inviting applications for a share of £15,940 from the Kidwells Park Trust, of which the council is trustee. Kidwells grants are available to assist in providing facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation for the benefit of residents of the borough.

For more information, read our press release.

Have your say on future locations for polling stations

We are inviting people to have their say on proposals for the future locations of polling stations in seven electoral wards.

We're undertaking a six-week public consultation as part of an interim review of specific polling places in Bray, Furze Platt, Pinkneys Green, Riverside, Ascot and Sunninghill, Clewer and Dedworth West, and Clewer East.

This is to consider the suitability of polling stations in meeting needs of electors where, due to Covid, a temporary station was used for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May 2022, and to consider whether any of these should become the usual/permanent polling station location for all future elections.

To see the recommended changes, please visit our website or inspect hard copies at one of the local libraries serving those wards.

Read our press release to learn more.

Congratulations to our local GCSE students

Well done to our local GCSE students getting your results this week!

We hope you're happy with your results after your hard work and study. If not, please speak to your college or school for advice. If you need independent mental health support, you can also contact Kooth.

Reminder: Make sure you’ve claimed your energy rebate if you don’t pay Council Tax by Direct Debit

If you live in a Band A to D household and do not pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit, please remember to complete the online form on the Grant Approval website with your bank account and other details, to claim your £150 energy rebate from Government to help with increased energy costs. In recent weeks, we have sent letters to those we think are eligible, but have not yet claimed, to invite them to apply by Wednesday 31 August 2022.

If you don’t claim by this date, the money will be credited to your Council Tax Account and you would have to then request a refund if you wanted it as cash to support your energy bills, so it’s much better to make an application to get the money paid directly to you. You are eligible for this money even if you don’t pay Council Tax because you are on full Council Tax Support. 

If you need help making an application online, you can drop into your local library and ask for assistance, and we have also set up specific help sessions during August when we will have more staff available to assist you. Please ensure you bring your latest Council Tax bill with you and details of your bank account – your address, account number and sort code. 

Please remain vigilant to scams related to the energy rebate. Only use the above website to make claims and remember that the council will never cold call you to collect your bank account details in order to pay the energy rebate. More information on the energy rebate scheme, including the national eligibility criteria, can be found on our energy rebate webpage.

For further information about cost of living support if you’re struggling financially, please visit our Here to Help webpages.

Royal Borough Heritage Discovery Week to shine a light on area's rich and varied history

Discover and appreciate some of the unique heritage we have in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead via a series of events planned for our first Heritage Discovery Week running from 10 to 18 September. 

There are a range of free and paid events, and The Windsor and Royal Borough Museum will also be open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm throughout the week with free entry available to all and free resources to help you discover more about our local heritage.   

This an ideal opportunity to discover more about the rich and varied history of the Royal Borough and highlights include:

• Free access to explore the Windsor Guildhall on Saturday 10 September.
• A VIP guided tour of the Guildhall hosted by experts from the Windsor and Royal Borough museum the same day (Advantage Card discount available). 
• Drinks, dinner and afternoon tea events at the Guildhall with expert speakers on a variety of topics including Leslie Grout on Secrets of the Cranbourne Tower on Tuesday 13 September, Hugo Vickers on The Queen and Windsor on Wednesday 14 September and Terry Pendry on All the Queen's Horses on Thursday 15 September.

Full details and how to book can be found on our website.

There will also be a free local studies drop-in session at Maidenhead Library on Tuesday 13 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm where you can view items held in the local collections and learn how local resources can be used to complete your own research projects. 

Reminder: Summer Bank Holiday pharmacy opening hours

If you unexpectedly need to visit a pharmacy in the Royal Borough on the Monday 29 August Bank Holiday, please visit the NHS website for information on pharmacies which have told the NHS they will be open.

Legoland offer for Advantage Card holders

To celebrate the end of Summer, Advantage Card holders can save 40% on peak tickets and 20% on off-peak tickets to Legoland.

Explore their newest land, Mythica, featuring a new mythical forest, the Hydra's Challenge, and the UK’s first flying theatre ride, Flight of the Sky Lion.

Visit our website for more details.

Are you aged 11 to 25? Have your say in the Royal Borough Youth Council's survey

The Royal Borough’s Youth Council wants to hear from residents aged from 11 to 25 on how the Youth Council can best help our local community, as part of their 2022 survey.

Their survey covers mental health services in schools, our local libraries, and transport in the community. Your feedback will influence the Youth Council’s focus and efforts in the coming year. Take part by completing their survey before the end of September.

You can also apply to join our Youth Council or see their poster to learn more.

Royal Borough community spotlight

Here are just some of the upcoming community events in the Royal Borough:

• Decorate your bikes (Saturday 27 August, 11am to 2pm) –Maidenhead Nicholsons Shopping Centre. Get crafty at the CycleHub and make decorations to take home for your bike. Make handlebar streamers, colourful wheel spoke attachments or bright ribbon embellishments. Let your imagination run wild! For kids of all ages. Adult supervision required for children under ten. Materials provided. For more information, please follow @cyclehubuk

• WEA Maidenhead Branch Courses: September term in-person or online courses include Victorian Railways, Art and Architecture of the Silk Road, Contemporary Moral Issues, Appreciating Science Fiction and Aspects of UK Housing History. In-person courses are held in St Mark's Methodist Church or St Joseph's. Details of the courses can be found on the WEA website (click on 'Find a Course' and enter 'Maidenhead Branch' in the search box). There is also a joint Oxford University-WEA Study Day on The Middle East in the 20^th Century on Monday 3 October at Norden Farm. Visit the website here or contact Steph Diggon at weamhead@gmail.com for more information.

• Maidenhead Choral Society rehearsals (7.45pm to 9.45pm every Monday from Monday 12 September) – St Luke’s Church, Norfolk Road, Maidenhead. All are welcome to join Maidenhead Choral Society as they rehearse a variety of short piece for their November concert. Visit their website to learn more.

• Maidenhead Waterways Fun Day (Saturday 17 September, 10am to 3pm) – Maidenhead Town Centre Amphitheatre. The event is free to attend and open to all with lots of fun activities planned to include canoe races, paddle boarding, live music, wild walks, treasure hunts, stalls and so much more. All events will be based in and around the water basin near Bakedd and the Coppa Club, with live entertainment in the amphitheatre outside the central Library on St Ives Road. For more information, visit the Maidenhead Bridge Rotary website

• Volunteers wanted at the Repair Café - The Maidenhead Repair Café is a fun, social and diverse community-based monthly event running at Maidenhead library. They are looking for volunteers with a passion for a waste-conscious living, that can help with running events or mentoring residents in repairing their beloved but broken items around Windsor and Maidenhead area. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Gabi at repair.maidenhead@gmail.com

• Sign up to the Maidenhead Women’s Group for European Friendship (MWGEF) – Founded in 1965, this non-political and non-religious organisation aim to develop their knowledge of Europe and foster friendship with their sister groups in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Austria. They hold monthly meetings with speakers on Wednesday afternoons at the United Reformed Church on West Street, Maidenhead. They welcome new members who are interested in aims. To learn more, visit the MWGEF website

• Free taster sessions at the Sequela Foundation (Every Tuesday, 10.30am to 1pm) – NMCC Sports Bar, Summerleaze Park. The Sequela Foundation offers help and support to residents with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke or Ataxia. Each session starts with tea/coffee biscuits and chat before a 45-minute seated exercise class. For more information, visit the Sequela Foundation website



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 over 20,000 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.

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:

• Future locations for polling stations - closes Monday 3 October
• Single person discount review – ongoing consultation
• Developing proposals for new school places - provide comments on the feasibility studies for school expansion – ongoing consultation.