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Climate change: help protect nature As part of our climate change campaign, we’re encouraging you to protect the natural environment.   Here are a few ways you can help nature: Walk or cycle more – swapping your car journey with a walk or cycle helps to reduce carbon emission damage to our environment, saves you money, and gets you active. Maidenhead Cycle Hub hosts regular social bike rides, so why not sign up and get outside? Join a wildlife group – protect the Royal Borough’s diverse species by joining a local wildlife group. There’s Wildlife in Ascot, Wild About Datchet, and Wild Maidenhead to name just a few. Bring nature home – invite nature to your garden or balcony by setting up bird feeders, planting flowers, or even building a bug hotel. Learn more about our climate campaign in our press release.

2021 local election results Thank you to everyone who supported and voted at last week’s elections and referendum. Conservative Matthew Barber was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley area. The Windsor neighbourhood plan referendum was voted through by 88.32%. Independent candidates Malcolm Alexander and Margaret Hayes-Powell were elected to Eton Town Council. Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Louisa Philip was elected to Cookham Parish Council.  Visit our website to learn more.

Visit our local arts and heritage centres From Monday, we can all once again visit indoor hospitality venues, including our local heritage and arts centres. International Museum Day, which raises awareness about the cultural importance of museums, is next Tuesday, so why not visit to a local heritage centre, museum, or gallery? Maidenhead Heritage Centre - learn about Maidenhead’s heritage and sample a 10-minute taster flight in a Spitfire simulator. Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham - see the latest exhibition, ‘Love, Art, Loss, the Wives of Stanley Spencer’, which explores the painter’s relationship with his two wives. Learn more on the official website. Other venues reopening include Norden Farm in Maidenhead, Theatre Royal Windsor, and Windsor’s art centre, Old Court. Windsor & Royal Borough Museum also welcomes its volunteers back next week for its phased reopening which begins with open-air talks. Bookings will be available soon.

Wishing you a happy and COVID-19 safe Shavuot Shavuot takes place from Sunday to Tuesday evening. From Monday you can gather indoors with up to six people from any household, or a group of any size from up to two households. You can also meet with up to 30 people outdoors. When meeting others, be aware of any close contact risks, and remember hands, face, space and fresh air. Visit the Government website for more information.

Have a chat with a lamp post Our Royal Borough is using Hello Lamp Post to support local high street recovery. This new system allows residents and visitors to share their experiences by anonymously ‘speaking’ to objects in the borough.  To strike up a conversation with an object, check for a yellow sign with a QR code, scan it, and then share your thoughts via SMS, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. This innovative system will gather your feedback to help inform decisions made as part of our safe reopening and recovery strategy. We’ll also be able to use the system to share information on upcoming events, future development plans, and even new bus timetables. Hello Lamp Post will initially be rolled out in Windsor this May, before being installed across the borough. More information is on the My Royal Borough website.

The Big Bike Revival As part of Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival, Maidenhead and Windsor Cycle Hubs are holding pop-up workshops to carry out free bike safety checks. These drop-in sessions check and adjust crucial bike parts such as breaks, tyres, and gears. The sessions are due to run from 8.30am – 4.30pm on: Thursday 20 May at Windsor and Eton Brewery Saturday 22 May at Desborough School in Maidenhead Monday 23 May outside Maidenhead Town Hall Email comms@cyclehub.org.uk to book. More details are on the Cycle Hub UK Facebook page.

You’ve got a great new business idea, but what next? If you want to set up a new business, but aren’t sure what to do next, apply for the Pre-Accelerator Programme. Run by Berkshire Business Hub, this free three-week course can help any budding Berkshire entrepreneur make their business idea a reality. Only 20 spaces are available, so make sure you register at info@berkshirebusinesshub.co.uk before midnight on Monday 24 May. Visit the Berkshire Business Hub website to learn more.

Change a young person’s life Find out how you could change a young person’s life, by attending a virtual fostering information session on Thursday 20 May at 5pm.   Achieving for Children, which provides children’s services in the Royal Borough, will present information on fostering and give you the chance to ask questions. Email fostering@achievingforchildren.org.uk to register.   Learn more on the Achieving for Children fostering website or in 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 Tuesday 18 May (next week), 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.

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: 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 21 May to 6am on Monday 24 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.