Please share with friends, family and neighbours in the borough so they can keep up to date. Sign up here if you've received a forwarded copy.
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Have your say on improving road safety and reducing congestion
We're
applying for powers to enforce existing moving traffic restrictions in
problem locations, to improve road safety and reduce congestion in the
Royal Borough.
The
Government is inviting councils to apply to use Automatic Number Plate
Recognition cameras to tackle illegal and dangerous driving activities,
such as turning up one-way streets, ignoring no entry signs, exceeding
weight limits and driving in pedestrian zones.
Cameras at targeted locations would make enforcement more consistent, effective and hopefully act as a deterrent.
The
proposal is to trial cameras next year at ten locations, initially at
five trouble spots where monitoring and public feedback show
restrictions are breached most.
We’re holding a six-week consultation until Saturday 24 December
to ensure we have identified the best sites for targeted camera
enforcement. Learn more and take part in the consultation on the RBWM Together website.
For more information, please read our press release.
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Make the most of free weekend parking this December
Our Resident Parking Discount Scheme is being
extended to two hours’ free parking on weekends throughout December,
providing a boost to Christmas shoppers and local businesses.
The scheme usually offers one hour’s free parking in six popular car parks - Alma
Road and Alexandra Gardens in Windsor, Grove Road and West Street in
Maidenhead, Horton Road in Datchet, and Meadow Lane in Eton.
If you have signed up via the RingGo
cashless parking system for your free, virtual permits, you will be
able to take advantage of the extended offer in these car parks on Saturdays and Sundays in December. The second free hour will be automatically applied if you're signed up for our parking scheme.
For more information on the scheme and how to apply, please visit our parking discount webpage.
To encourage the use
of public transport, there will also be free travel on supported bus
services on selected Saturdays leading up to Christmas. To learn more,
please read our press release.
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Helping those in need with the rising cost of living
Our
‘Here to Help’ campaign is continuing to highlight the latest local and
national support that can help residents struggling with the rising
cost of living. Here to Help first launched in May and brings together a
range of cost of living support from the council and our various partners onto one dedicated webpage, covering energy and water bills, rent, council tax, food, childcare, school meals, benefits and more.
If
you’re struggling financially and facing difficult decisions around
food, rent or heating, please seek help before you reach crisis point.
Check out our dedicated 'Here to Help' webpage as soon as possible,
contact us, your landlord and energy supplier, to see what help might be
available to you.
As
winter approaches, bringing extra financial pressures and worries
around heating costs, we are expanding the campaign to include promotion
of an emerging network of safe, warm spaces within our borough. This
includes spaces from eleven of our community partners, and the safe
spaces offered by our libraries. Visit the RBWM Together website for a map of locations and further details.
We
are continuing to add to the network. If you are a community
organisation, or a business with suitable customer-facing premises, and
would like your space to be included, please contact communications@rbwm.gov.uk, to support those struggling with the rising cost of living.
Read more in our press release or by checking out #HereToHelpRBWM.
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Affordable homes for different needs
As
part of highlighting some of our work with partners to address the
housing challenge locally, today we're looking at affordable housing.
You might have heard the term “affordable housing”, but did you know
that there are several types of affordable housing to meet different
local needs and income levels?
The main types within the Royal Borough are:
Social Rent –
around 60% of open market rent. This is the most affordable and is
allocated to households on the Housing Register. This is a formula-based
rent, based on the relative value of the property, relative local
income levels and the size of the property to work out how much rent is
paid.
Affordable Rent –
no more than 80% of market rent. Affordable rents were introduced by
the government in 2011 as a way of allowing Registered Providers to
charge higher rent, but one that is still more affordable than renting
on the private market, in order to help more homes to be built.
Shared Ownership –
part buy/part rent. A form of low-cost home ownership which is within
reach of households on slightly higher incomes. An affordable housing
homeowner will buy an initial equity of 25% to 75% and pay rent on the
remaining unsold equity to a Registered Provider.
How many affordable homes do you want to see?
Our
Corporate Plan sets a goal to enable more than 3,000 new homes by 2026,
including at least 1,000 affordable homes. This is also an objective of
our Housing Strategy – you can watch this animation
to learn more about the strategy. Developers are required to construct a
certain proportion of affordable housing, then transfer it to a
Registered Provider to manage.
Planning
policy within our Borough Local Plan requires developers to deliver 30%
or 40% affordable homes on larger schemes, depending on specific size
and location. We expect levels of affordable housing to increase
dramatically within the next few years, as sites allocated in the
Borough Local Plan start to come forward and be completed.
We’re
also actively bringing forward affordable homes in partnership with
developer Countryside, including 69 already delivered at Watermark in
York Road, with a further 27 to come in two future phases, plus 87
planned at the St Cloud Way redevelopment on the former Magnet Leisure
Centre site in partnership with Abri, a local Registered Provider.
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Update from Abri on regeneration plans for Sawyers Close
Abri,
one of our local housing partners, has progressed the designs for the
potential regeneration of Sawyers Close, Windsor, following feedback
from the local community, officers at the Royal Borough and the Design
South East panel (local building design experts).
As
a result of feedback, the total number of new homes currently being
proposed is 417. Of these, 189 would be for social rent and 228 would be
additional new affordable homes.
Abri
is expecting to submit a planning application in 2023, but before that,
another information event for residents and the local community will be
held early in the new year. For updates about Sawyers Close, please
visit the Sawyers Close website.
Abri
is also undertaking a number of additional affordable housing schemes
and is on target to deliver 151 new affordable homes in the Royal
Borough by 2026. Several developments are getting under way, including
87 affordable homes at phase one of the St Cloud Way redevelopment in
partnership with the Royal Borough and Countryside.
Abri is also delivering 41 new affordable homes at Sunningdale Park, Ascot, and 23 affordable homes are under construction.
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Take part in our More Active Survey
We’re
inviting you to share your views on the Royal Borough’s current leisure
services to see if what we’re giving you is what you want and need.
The
online Royal Borough More Active Survey will help us better understand
your exercise habits and if you can easily access local sports and
wellbeing facilities. The survey is designed so that your responses are
anonymous and will take only ten minutes to complete.
Your
feedback is crucial to pinpoint any barriers preventing you from being
more physically active and using local leisure centres, and other
facilities such as green spaces, to help us consider solutions to
overcome these. We’re also keen to hear from those of you who don’t
currently use our leisure services to understand why.
We’ll
use the survey’s findings, along with feedback from focus groups as
well as stakeholders, to inform the Royal Borough’s future leisure
provision which is due to be discussed in the spring.
The survey closes at midnight on Wednesday 14 December.
Public-access
computers are available at all local libraries, where staff will be
happy to help you get online if needed. If paper copies of the survey
are required instead, these are also available from libraries on
request.
Learn more in our press release.
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Carers Rights Day Celebration
Are you a carer looking after a family member? Do you know your rights or how to get the support you’re entitled to?
A special event for carers in the community is due to be held on Friday 25 November, from 10am to 2pm, at Maidenhead Community Centre in Marlow Road.
The
event offers information, activities, and lunch. There’s also free
parking at the venue, and there’s no need to book your attendance.
For more details, either email dulsey.tapera@rbwm.gov.uk or call 07795 207619.
The event is being organised by us, Optalis, Family Action, and NHS Frimley.
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Reminder: Share your thoughts on health visiting and school nursing
If your child used our health visiting or school nursing services during the past five years, we’d like to hear your views, via a short online survey. This will help us understand your thoughts on the current services, and what you’d like to see in the future.
Health
visitors and school nurses are health professionals supporting the
health and wellbeing of 0 to 19-year-olds, and their families, across
the Royal Borough, to give children and young people the best start in
life and achieve their full potential. Health visitors support families
with children under five, while school nurses focus on age six upwards.
The survey on our RBWM Together engagement website has been designed to take no more than five minutes of your time and ends at midnight on Wednesday 30 November.
Once the survey has finished, we’ll upload your feedback onto that site.
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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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Learn about your carbon footprint
(Saturday 19 November, 2pm to 4pm) – Maidenhead Library. Filling Good,
Maidenhead's community and not for profit zero waste shop, is running a
free event to help you understand your carbon footprint and learn what
you can do about it. Please book a slot in advance by emailing shopping@fillinggood.co.uk to avoid queuing or simply pop along tomorrow for a chat
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Christmas Bazaar
(Saturday 19 November, 10am to 11.30am) – St Mark’s Crescent Methodist
Church. Featuring church stalls including home baked cakes, stationery,
bric-a-brac, toys, raffle and tombola. Proceeds from the stalls go to
the St Mark's building fund. The Tuesday Singers, Dragon Explorer Scouts
and the Trefoil Guild will also be running stalls and activities. Entry
is free, and refreshments including mince pies will also be available
throughout the morning. For more information, please email info@stmarksmaidenhead.org.uk
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Maidenhead Choral Society concert
(Saturday 19 November, 7.30pm) – St Luke’s Church, Maidenhead. A
concert of music by Mozart, Haydn and Faure. Tickets are £12 and can be
purchased on the Choral Society website or at the door
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Charity Concert (Sunday
20 November, 7.30pm) – Windsor Baptist Church. The Windsor Classical
Guitar Ensemble will perform several short ensembles and solo pieces,
including “La Vie Breve” by De Falla, “Palladio” by Karl Jenkins and
“Elizabethan Serenade” by R. Binge. Entrance is free and any donations
will go to charity. For more information, visit the Windsor Guitar website
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The Story of the British Musical
(Wednesday 23 November, 1pm to 2.30pm) – Old Windsor Memorial Hall.
Join the Arts Society Windsor to learn about the origins of British
Musicals in the 1930s and their resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s.
Guests are welcome, entry is £7 per person, details can be found on the Arts Society Windsor website
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Tails of Windsor & Ascot book launch (Friday
25 November) – Mill Ride Golf Club, Ascot. Millers Image Limited
(MIL) Pet Photography are delighted to launch its first book which
showcases the dogs of Windsor and Ascot. Raising £1,350
for Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs, their local professional dog
photographer has been capturing the true personality of 45 dogs across
many Windsor and Ascot locations. Free invitations to the book
launch event are available from Chris Miller. Full details on the Tails of Windsor & Ascot book are available on their website
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Maidenhead Scouts, Guides and Brownies Christmas Fair
(Saturday 26 November, 10am to 2pm) – High Street Methodist Church,
Maidenhead. Join 13th Maidenhead Scouts and 4th Maidenhead Brownies and
Guides for a free Christmas fair featuring a tombola, raffle, games, and
refreshments. There will also be a bake-off competition with multiple
age categories. Entries to be submitted to the church between 6pm and
7.30 pm on Friday 25 November. Please see the poster to learn more
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Wreath Making at Braywick Nature Centre
(Saturday 26 November, 10am to 11am and 11.30am to 12.30pm) – Braywick
Nature Centre hall. Come and create a beautiful Christmas wreath, made
of fresh foliage and decorations from around the reserve. All
instructions will be given. Your fantastic wreath will be yours to walk
home with! You will be supplied with equipment - you just need to bring
a wire coat hanger as the basis of your wreath. Visit the Eventbrite page to book
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Clewer and Dedworth Community Christmas Fair and Light Switch-On
(Sunday 27 November, 1pm to 5pm) – Pirate Park, Dedworth. Come for a
Christmas market, games and bumper raffle, seasonal refreshments, and a
chance to meet Father Christmas. The highlight of the fair at 4.45pm is
the switch-on of the Dedworth Road Christmas lights, which have been
funded by the community! Buy your raffle tickets in advance from Woodys
Café
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Christmas Market
(Sunday 27 November, from noon to 3.30pm) - All Saints Boyne Hill
Church, Maidenhead. Lovely community event in the church quadrangle to
share the Christmas spirit. Crafts and gifts stalls, BBQs, Indian food,
drinks, mulled wine and mince pies, tombola and a raffle with great
prizes, Santa in his Grotto and activities for children, Christmas songs
performed by the children of Boyne Hill School, the All Saints Choir,
and music from the Salvation Army Band. Entrance is £2 per adult,
children free. More information is available on the All Saints website
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Merlin: The Spellbinding Panto
(Friday 2 December until Saturday 10 December) – Memorial Hall, Old
Windsor. Riverside Players' panto returns with a rollicking
medieval adventure filled with magic and mayhem. This show is full of
great songs and lots of audience participation. If you are looking for a
magical start to Christmas, come along for some festive panto fun.
Ticket prices are £11 for adults, £9 for concessions (students &
Pensioners) and £7 for children (16 and under). Book online now on the Riverside Players website
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Christmas Fair (Friday
2 December, 5pm to 7pm) Eton Wick CofE First School, Sheepcote Road.
Friends of Eton Wick School are holding a Christmas Fair featuring
festive games, tombola, storytime with Santa and Mrs Claus (£3 per
child, includes a gift). Food and refreshments will be available. Visit
their Facebook page for more information
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Clewer Scout and Guides Christmas Fayre (Saturday
3 December, from 11am to 2pm) – Scout HQ, Maidenhead Road, Windsor.
Featuring stalls, including handmade goods, games and food, a raffle
with great prizes and lots more for all the family. Admission is
free and there’s plenty of parking. They are a small charitable
organisation encompassing seven Scout and Guide groups and provide
facilities for a variety of community groups, all running from
their HQ. Please come and support them to raise funds to improve
their facilities. Visit the Clewer website to learn more
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Tickets on sale for the Mayor's Charity Christmas Meal (Saturday 3 December, 7.15pm) – Windsor Guildhall. Tickets
are now on sale for the Mayor, Councillor Christine Bateson’s, Charity
Christmas Meal in aid of Thames Hospice. Tickets cost £49 and the
evening includes a drinks reception, three-course meal and seasonal
entertainment. Visit our website to purchase tickets
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Charity Christmas Concert
(Sunday 4 December, 3pm) – Holy Trinity Garrison Church, Windsor. The
Claremore singers will be singing a variety of Christmas songs and
carols ranging from Angels Carol by John Rutter to The Christmas Waltz
by Sammy Cahn. Admission is £5 (cash only) with free entry to
children and accompanying carers. Wheelchair access is via the side door
opposite E Berks College car park. All proceeds go to Thames Valley
Hospice and Trinity Church
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Celebrate Christmas at St Mary’s
(Sunday 11 to Sunday 25 December) – St Mary’s Church, Maidenhead.
Celebrate Christmas this year by attending carol and Christingle
services at St Mary's Church. Please visit the St Mary’s website or read the flyer for more information
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:
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Local travel updates
The M4 is due to be closed in both directions between junctions 3 (Hayes) and 4b (M25) from 10pm today (Friday 18 November) until 6am on Monday 21 November. Traffic will be diverted onto the A312, A40, M40 and the M25. For more information, please visit the National Highways website.
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.
There is also planned industrial action tomorrow (Saturday 19 November), Monday 21 and Saturday 26 November which may cause disruption to local rail services. For the latest information, please visit the Great Western Railway and South Western Railway websites.
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