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.
Photo of car splashing through surface water on a road. Stay safe by signing up for flood alerts and warnings

Sign up for Flood Alerts


River levels remain high following recent wet weather and it is possible that some areas of the borough could experience flooding if more rain falls in the weeks ahead. 

 

While we are working with the Environment Agency and Thames Water to reduce the risk of flooding where possible, below are some actions you can also take to help protect yourself and others:



  • Visit our website for more information about who to contact and how to report different issues during extreme weather
Draft 2025/26 Budget. A strong financial footing to serve the borough effectively

Draft budget


Draft budget proposals for the 2025/26 financial year will be considered by the council’s Cabinet next week, before being put to the public so you can have your say on the final budget that will be agreed in March 2025.


To deliver services residents need and achieve a balanced budget, the proposals include a significant increase to council tax bills, while this will still mean the bills will remain lower than all other areas in Berkshire. We will also protect our most vulnerable residents from the additional increase.


Read more on our website
Pale green graphic with icons representing cost of living areas including housing, food and childcare. Here to Help. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Here to Help


Support is available if you’re struggling to meet the costs of essentials including food, heating, council tax and childcare this winter.


Please seek help before you are in a crisis, by checking what financial and practical support you could be eligible for by visiting our RBWM Here to Help pages, visiting your local library for a copy of our updated Here to Help leaflet or by calling our team on 01628 683800.


You can also contact Citizens Advice East Berkshire on 0808 278 7914 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) or by attending one of their drop-in sessions held from 10am to 12pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at Marlow Road, Maidenhead.


Help on accessing additional sources of income is also available by booking an appointment with our Financial Inclusion Officers
Festive red graphic with details of Christmas and New Year bin collection dates in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Visit https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/holiday-collection-dates

Christmas and New Year waste collection dates


We’re reminding residents to check bin and waste collection day changes over the festive period, until 12 January 2025 - via our holiday collection dates webpage


Please put your bin or sack on the kerbside before 7am on collection day and no earlier than the night before. Garden waste collections will be paused from Friday 27 December and resume on Monday 13 January.


Over the festive period, our customer contact centre, libraries and museum will also be operating on different opening hours. For a full list of changes, please visit our webpage
Festive red graphic with Christmas tree lights. Keeping safe this winter. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Stay safe this Christmas


We want borough residents and visitors to have a safe and enjoyable end to the year. 


Below are some of the ways that you can help yourself and others stay safe: 


  • Lock all doors and windows when you leave home. Keep keys and valuables away from letterboxes or small openings like cat flaps


  • Vary your passwords when shopping online. Use a strong password that combines random words, symbols and numbers


  • Stop doorstep thieves from stealing your Christmas by assigning a safe space for deliveries that arrive when you are not home 


  • Search ‘Ask for Angela’ to learn more about the help that’s available if you feel vulnerable when enjoying a night out


  • If you receive an unexpected call from your bank or someone in a position of authority, ask to call them back on a number you trust
  • Find out more about reporting anti-social behaviour on our website. Additional support is available if you’ve reported the same issue multiple times


Learn more by visiting our Community Safety pages or by calling our team on 01628 685636.
White graphic of a school, children and a playground on a rich purple background. A good start to life and opportunities into adulthood.

New school for children with special educational needs and disabilities


We’re progressing plans for a new school to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).


This follows a successful bid for funding from the Department for Education to provide support closer to home for families of children with SEND. Once built, the school will offer 100 places for children and young people aged from seven to 16 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan in place, with a key focus on their social, emotional and mental health needs.


The council is committed to providing all children with a good start in life and opportunities through to adulthood and this exciting news follows praise from Ofsted inspectors who recently rated our children services as ‘good’.
Green map of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on a patterned white background with a pin showing the location of Maidenhead near the top right of the map graphic. Draft Maidenhead Neighbourhood Plan.

Share your views on draft Maidenhead Neighbourhood Plan


Residents in Maidenhead are encouraged to share their views on a draft plan that’s been developed by the Maidenhead Neighbourhood Forum, with the aim of making Maidenhead a vibrant and resilient place to live and work and complimenting our Borough Local Plan. You can have your say on plan on the Maidenhead Neighbourhood Forum website by Sunday 22 December.

Our consultations - have your say


We regularly hold consultations and surveys to seek your views on proposals within the Royal Borough: 

 

Community Spotlight


Here are some of the upcoming community events and volunteering opportunities in the Royal Borough: 

 

  • Hope Church in Sunningdale holds their community food share event every Tuesday from 12pm to 1pm. The church receives donations of food that is at the end of its shelf life, that would otherwise be thrown away, and anyone is welcome to come and fill a bag. Email for more information



  • Windsor Soundswell Choir will hold its annual Christmas concert on Saturday 14 December from 7.30pm at The Old Court, St Leonard’s Road. There will be seasonal songs, soloists and carols with audience participation warmly encouraged. Tickets are available on 01753 911333 or at the door


  • Maidenhead Street Angels will be in Maidenhead High Street this Saturday morning, 14 December and will abandon their usual handouts of flip flops, lollies and bottled water in favour of different ‘‘give-aways’ for pre-Christmas shoppers. Keep a look out for them in their blue coats with the Angels logo


  • Grace Church, Windsor invite you to a Carol Service on Sunday 15 December at 4pm. Sing traditional carols, enjoy festive refreshments and hear an uplifting message about Jesus Christ and his enduring relevance for us today. See more information


  • Maidenhead Thames Rotary Club will be holding an enchanting Christmas concert at St. Mary’s Church, Maidenhead at 7pm on Saturday 14 December. The proceeds from their magical evening of festive music and heart-warming seasonal classics will go to the two local hospices


  • Cantorum Choir will present Cantorum Christmas from 5.30pm on Saturday 14 December at St Michael's Church, Bray. Visit their website for more information and tickets (under 18s £10, under 10s go free)


  • The Arts Society Windsor invite you to a lecture by Bertie Pearce entitled, 'We are Amused - Victorian Pleasures, Pastimes and Magic' at 1.30pm on Wednesday 18 December in Old Windsor Memorial Hall. New members welcome. Visit their website


  • Monday Friends takes place at St Marks Crescent Methodist Church, in Taplow Maidenhead from 10.30am to 12.00noon on Mondays. This is a morning for all in the community, especially those who are alone and would like to make friends and get to know others. For further information call 07714 892599 or email


  • Book your Christmas tree collection from Riverside Tree Care to raise vital funds for Thames Valley Hospice this winter. Collections will take place from Friday 3 to Tuesday 7 January from Maidenhead, Bray, Fifield, Holyport, Marlow, Windsor, Cookham and Bourne End. For more information email or visit their website



Do you have an upcoming not-for-profit community event or appeal for volunteers you’d like us to share? Send a short summary including key dates and a link to communications@rbwm.gov.uk and it could be shared with more than 21,000 local residents.

 

To see further volunteering opportunities in the borough, please visit RBWM Together

Local travel updates


For details of further council works on highways, visit our website. For full local roadwork details, including work by utility firms, please visit the One Network website   



  • There will be a road closure on Park Lane, Horton, Monday to Friday only, daily between 8am and 6pm until Friday 20 December to facilitate fibre optic ducting works


  • There will be a temporary closure of Castle Hill, Windsor between 5pm and 7.30pm on Friday 13 December for the annual Christmas Carol service around the Christmas tree at Queen Victoria’s Statue


  • Cycleway improvements will continue on Holmanleaze, Maidenhead until 14 March 2025 as part of our work to improve walking and cycling routes in the town centre



  • Work to upgrade the Holyport roundabout will start on Monday 6 January and be carried out in three phases until July 2025. The project follows your feedback on road safety in the area and is funded by Local Enterprise Partnership and the Community Infrastructure Levy

Keep in touch


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