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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Share your views on the proposed budget
You are invited to take part in our public consultation on the draft budget proposals for 2023/24, which runs until Tuesday 24 January.
Coupled with an increasing demand for some
services, especially provisions for our most vulnerable residents such
as social care and housing, we have reviewed all services to ensure they
are run as effectively as possible and provide value for money.
To
help achieve a balanced budget, the draft budget proposes a 4.99%
increase in council tax for 2023/24, which includes an increase of 2% in
the adult social care precept. This follows the additional flexibility
around raising council tax, announced in the government’s Autumn
Statement, to help councils address rising costs.
We remain focused on delivering a sustainable borough of opportunity and innovation, and on our Corporate Plan
priorities. Despite the national change to council tax, the Royal
Borough will continue to have one of the lowest council tax rates in the
country.
Your
feedback will help inform discussions when the draft budget is debated
and council tax is set at Full Council in February 2023.
To take part in the consultation, please visit the RBWM Together website.
Read our press release to learn more.
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Key planning document adopted for South West Maidenhead
Thank you to
everyone who participated in our community engagement and consultation
earlier this year on a key planning document for South West Maidenhead.
The document, which Cabinet voted to adopt last night (Thursday 15 December),
will support the effective delivery of much-needed new homes, community
facilities, employment space and improved public access to green space
in South West Maidenhead.
South West Maidenhead is allocated for development in the Borough Local Plan,
with a vision to provide a sustainable, high-quality and distinctive
place where people will want to live and enjoy living, that is well
integrated into the existing community and supported by the right
on-site community facilities and infrastructure.
This Supplementary Planning Document will guide
developers in shaping detailed planning applications and the council in
deciding those applications. Following the public consultation, a number
of changes have been reflected in the finalised document, including
around housing mix and affordable housing, building heights, schools,
playing pitches, infrastructure costs and delivery, and biodiversity net
gain.
Read our press release to learn more and read the document.
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New modern car park opens in Maidenhead to support growth and regeneration
Today (Friday 16 December),
we have opened a new car park in Maidenhead, providing modern parking
facilities to support the town’s ongoing growth and regeneration.
Vicus
Way has 500 spaces over 10 levels, including 52 bays with fast chargers
for electric vehicles to support the transition to sustainable travel,
with the capacity to have further chargepoints added in future.
The
car park is already open for short-stay day parking, though from
January 2023 it will also be available for season ticket holders.
Motorists can now apply for a three-month season ticket, at a lower
price, to use at Vicus Way for the remainder of 2022/23. For more
information and to apply, visit our website.
Learn more in our press release.
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Action Plan agreed to increase biodiversity in the Royal Borough
Cabinet
has agreed an action plan to increase biodiversity in the Royal Borough
through positive habitat management measures and partnership working.
The Biodiversity Action Plan aims to provide 30% of land in the borough as a space for nature by 2030 - in line with the national Wildlife Trusts' ‘30 by 30’ campaign - and signals our commitment to working with partners to improve the natural environment.
It
sets out an action plan covering the next four years and has been
jointly developed with local wildlife and conservation groups with input
from the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
(BBOWT).
The overarching plan contains individual action
plans for the main habitat types in our borough: woodland, grassland,
waterways, standing water and urban.
For more information, please read our press release.
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Reminder: Check out our Christmas bin collection timetable
As we look forward to Christmas and New Year, make sure you know your bin
collection dates over the festive period by checking our website.
You can also find out when your next collection day is. Please ensure your bins are out before 7am. Normal collection days resume from Monday 16 January 2023.
We’re also encouraging everyone to recycle where
possible during the festive season. Whether it's glass jars, drinks cans
or Christmas cards, there will be lots you can recycle. For a full list
of what can and can’t be recycled, please visit our Recycling Waste page.
Extra rubbish or recycling can be taken to our Stafferton Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre,
which will continue to open daily 8am to 4.15pm, seven days a week over
the festive period, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s
Day
Please don’t forget to
recycle your real Christmas tree. Chop up your tree into your green bin
if you have one or take it to the household recycling centre, or a
tree collection point. Please visit our disposing of your real Christmas tree page to find out more.
You can also find festive period opening hours for our libraries, customer
contact centre, museum and visitor information centre on our dedicated webpage.
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Look after yourself and others in the cold weather
With the first cold snap of winter continuing, the Level 3 Cold Weather Alert for England has been extended until this Sunday (16 December).
In our
region, sleet or snow is forecast for Sunday morning. The temperature
locally is however expected to rise during the day, meaning any downfall
could become rain.
In
line with national NHS guidance, we’re encouraging everyone to check
vulnerable loved ones have warm food and drinks and can heat their homes
to at least 18°C during this cold period, especially those who are not
mobile, have a long-term illness or are 65 or over.
For more advice, please visit the NHS website, call NHS 111 or speak with your local pharmacist.
If you, or someone you know, are struggling to heat your home, we’re promoting several
community organisations that are opening safe, warm spaces and running
coffee mornings and other activities where people in need can go this
winter. A map of locations is available on our website.
If you are
struggling financially and facing difficult decisions around food, rent
or heating, you are also encouraged to seek help before reaching a
crisis point. Check our dedicated 'Here to Help' webpage as soon as possible, contact us, your landlord and energy supplier to see what help might be available.
Our gritters are also out treating roads across
the borough and will continue to do so when freezing road temperatures
are forecast. Check out our Winter Services video to learn more.
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Be ice-safe in the freezing weather
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) are reminding everyone to be safe around cold or frozen bodies of water.
Although frozen water can look inviting, please do not be tempted to explore frozen waterways. You
have no idea how thick the ice is, and it could easily break. The water
below is cold enough to take your breath away and cause cold water
shock.
If you fall through ice, remember to:
- Keep calm and shout for help
- Spread your arms across the surface of the ice in front of you
- Lie flat and pull yourself towards the bank
If you see someone fall through ice, you should:
- Shout for assistance and call 999
- Do not walk or climb onto the ice to attempt a rescue
- Try to reach the person who has fallen in from the bank using a rope, pole, or tree branch
For more information, visit the RBFRS website.
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Got an idea to improve health and wellbeing in your community?
You are invited to apply for the third round of our Innovation Funding scheme, with applications welcomed until midnight on Monday 6 February.
The scheme,
run in partnership with NHS Frimley, is for residents, or groups, in the
Royal Borough with ideas to improve health and wellbeing in their
communities. Successful applicants will receive one-off funding of up to
£5,000 to get their project up and running.
Ideas must show how they’ll tackle one of the following:
- Access to services to improve people’s health
- Social isolation and loneliness
- Health prevention to reduce risk factors
- Reduce mental or physical health inequalities.
These ideas must also reflect local issues/themes raised at World Cafés.
For more details on the application process, please visit the RBWM Together website.
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The World Café is coming to Belmont
Our free World Café is making its last stop for 2022 next week, in Belmont ward on Tuesday 20 December.
It will be at Jakes House, Holmanleaze, Maidenhead (SL6 8AL), from 12.30pm to 2.20pm.
Come along and have a cuppa and an informal chat with community representatives to identify solutions to respond as a community to the rising cost of living. As
usual, fun activities are also planned including soup making, with
goodies and gifts also available. There’s no need to book in advance.
For more details visit the RBWM Together website.
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Festive fun at your local library this Christmas
There are lots of great upcoming events at our libraries this Christmas. Here are just some of this year’s festive events:
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Christmas Crafts Week (Monday
19 to Friday 23 December, 2.30pm to 4pm) – Maidenhead Library. Daily
crafts include angels, penguins, and snowmen. Free to attend, no booking
is required
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Twelve Days in The Library (Tuesday
20 December, 6pm) – Windsor Library. The library will be taking part in
The Windsor and Eton Living Advent Calendar 2022 with a live
performance of ‘Twelve Days in The Library’. Visit the Facebook page for details
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Christmas Tree Book Folding Workshop (Thursday
22 December, 11am to noon) – Cox Green Library. Make and decorate a
Christmas tree out of recycled books. £3 per person, book via Eventbrite
Check out our library events page to learn more about all the upcoming festive events in our libraries.
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Focus on sustainability: Curbing food waste this Christmas
Families
spend on average £146 on their festive food each year, but
unfortunately some of it will end up in the bin as food waste.
It's
important to plan ahead and get creative with your leftovers this
festive season, which will positively impact the planet as well as your
wallet.
Our Sustainability team has put together an article on RBWM Together with tips and tricks you can use to save money while tackling food waste and helping the planet this Christmas.
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Save money and tackle food waste
Do you want to help the planet whilst bagging some tasty treats at a discounted price?
Well,
you're in luck. There are a variety of mobile apps that offer
discounted (or even free!) food and drink items, which prevent them from
unnecessarily being binned.
The Olio app connects neighbours so that any excess food can be picked up for free. The Too Good To Go and Karma apps also allow people to pick up discounted food items from local restaurants and cafes.
Our Sustainability team picked up the pictured goodies from a local cafe for only £4, discounted from £12.
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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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Carols by candlelight
(Saturday 17 December at 6pm and Friday 23 December at 6pm) – Holy
Trinity Parish and Garrison Church, Windsor. This hugely popular carol
service is taking place over two evenings this year so there will be
room for everyone No need to book!
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Christmas carol singing (Saturday
17 and Friday 23 December, 10am to noon, and Sunday 18 December, 11am
to 1pm) – Maidenhead Sainsbury’s. The Rotary Club members will be
singing Christmas Carols, with the support of White Waltham Brass Band.
Members of the public, including children, are welcome to join in.
Please come along to have some fun
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Visit Santa’s Grotto
(Saturday 17 December, 11am to 3pm) – Nicholsons’ Centre, Maidenhead
After two years’ absence due to Covid, the annual Rotary Santa Grotto is
coming back to town! Santa and his Elves will be greeting and
listening to visiting children’s wish lists and handing special presents
to them. This is a free of charge event, though small donations will be
welcomed with the proceeds presented to local charities
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Annual carol singing event
(Sunday 18 December, 5.30pm) – Fifield Village. Oakley Green, Fifield
& District Community Association (OGAFCA) will be holding their
annual carol singing event. A chance for neighbours to join together for
an hour before Christmas to sing carols and share a little festive
spirit. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served, and all are welcome
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Christmas Services at The Church of the Good Shepherd
– Cox Green Community Centre. You are invited to a carol service on
Sunday 18 December at 6pm, a crib service on Christmas Eve at 4pm, where
children are invited to dress up as an angel or shepherd, their
Midnight Eucharist service at 11.15pm on Christmas Eve, and their 10am
Christmas Day service which is suitable for all ages. For more
information, visit their website
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Christmas Service at All Saints Boyne Hill Church
– Join All Saints Boyle Hill Church for a traditional carol service at
6pm on Sunday 18 December which is followed by a glass of mulled wine
and mince pies for all to enjoy. Details can be found on the All Saints website
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Windsor Christmas Services (Sunday 18 December, 9.30am) – Theatre Royal, Windsor. King’s Church International, will host a
special Christmas service. The event is free to attend on a first
come first served basis. There will also be a Christmas Eve Carol
Services at 4pm at King’s House, Frances Road, Windsor. To learn more,
visit the King's Church International website
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Christmas at St Mark's Crescent Church, Maidenhead
– Everyone is invited to attend a festive service led by Rev. Pete
Philips on Sunday 18 December at 10.30am, with coffee available after
the service in the new Hub. For more information, please email info@stmarksmaidenhead.org.uk
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Beauty and the Beast
(Until Sunday 18 December) – Holyport Memorial Hall. When an arrogant
Prince is cursed to live as a beast, his only hope of salvation is to
find love before the last petal falls from a magic rose. When pretty
village girl, Beauty, comes into his life is this the chance he has been
waiting for? Maidenhead Drama Guild will be performing this classic
tale. Visit the Little Box Office website for more information and to book tickets
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Christmas services at All Saints’ Church, Windsor
– Attend the ever-popular crib service with Christingle at 3pm on
Christmas Eve. All proceeds will go to The Children’s Society. You are
also invited to join their family Eucharist with carols at 10am and
Christmas morning praise service at 11.15am on Christmas Day
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Christmas with Giles, Grandma and the Family (Wednesday
21 December, 1.30pm) – Old Windsor Memorial Hall. Join The Arts Society
Windsor for a talk on Carl Giles looking at his life and seasonal works
including some of his funniest cartoons. £7 for non-members. To
learn more and book, visit the Arts Society website
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Celebrate Christmas at St Mary’s
(Until Sunday 25 December) – St Mary’s Church, Maidenhead. Celebrate
Christmas this year by visiting St Mary’s Church and attending carol and
Christingle services. Please visit the St Mary’s website for more information
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Snow White and the Spaceman
(Friday 27 January at 7.30pm and Saturday 28 January at 2pm and 7pm) –
St Mark’s Crescent Methodist Church, Maidenhead. A pantomime production
by the Broken Shoestring Theatre Group. Tickets are £10 for adults, £6
for under 16’s and under-fives go free. Book and learn more on the Ticket Source website
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Sign up for upcoming WEA courses
– St Mark’s Methodist Church. Join the Workers' Educational Association
(WEA) January term for a series of online and face-to-face courses on
topics ranging from the industrial revolution, Ancient Egypt, to the
origins of Christianity. Details can be found on the WEA website.
There is also a joint Oxford University-WEA Study Day on African
history on the struggle for freedom on Monday 16 January at Norden Farm.
Visit the Oxford University website 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
There
are planned strikes by the RMT union which are likely to cause local
rail travel disruption. These are planned to take place from:
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Today (Friday 16) to tomorrow (Saturday 17 December)
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Saturday 24 to Tuesday 27 December
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Tuesday 3 to Wednesday 4 January
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Friday 6 to Saturday 7 January
For the latest information, please visit the Great Western Railway and South Western Railway websites.
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Merry Christmas from the Royal Borough
We would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
This is our last issue of Residents’ Newsletter for 2022. The next edition will be published in early January 2023.
In the meantime, please make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Nextdoor to stay up to date with the latest local news and updates.
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