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.
|
|
Praise for testing teams as free Lateral Flow Testing comes to an end
For
most people, free lateral flow testing (LFTs) has ended today as part
of the Government’s Living with Covid Plan, published last month.
The government’s rules on LFTs, published this week, outline those groups still entitled to free testing from today (Friday 1 April). Please visit the Government website to learn more.
Throughout
the pandemic, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead provided
free LFTs to residents via its Community Collect scheme at borough
leisure centres and the Royal Windsor Information Centre, Assisted
Testing at Braywick and Windsor leisure centres, and also via mobile
units. More than 21,000 free boxes of LFTs were distributed, and some
19,900 free assisted tests carried out.
We’d
like to thank our Community and Assisted Testing teams, Public Health
teams and other key council services, alongside our community partners,
for their incredible support and commitment to the Royal Borough’s
testing programme.
Although
restrictions in England have now ended, Covid is still with us, so we
encourage you to continue key behaviours – wearing a mask in crowded
places, good hand hygiene, staying home if you’re ill and getting
vaccinated.
The
Covid vaccine remains the best protection against this virus. Over-75s
and people with a weakened immune system can now get a second booster
and the vaccine is about to be rolled out to children aged five to 11.
To book your Covid vaccine, visit either the NHS website or Frimley Health and Care's vaccination webpage.
|
|
Royal Borough moving ahead with key recommendations from independent review
The
Royal Borough is moving ahead with key recommendations for further
improvement arising from a recent independent review, which overall
found the council had made “good progress” where needed over recent
years, with a clear direction to strengthen further.
In
January 2022, the Royal Borough welcomed an external Challenge Team
drawn from other councils to look at the five core areas of: local
priorities and outcomes, organisational and place leadership, governance
and culture, financial planning and management, and capacity for
improvement. The process included interviews with councillors, staff,
residents and external partners.
Despite
the challenges of Covid, the review’s initial feedback, shared in
February, was that the Royal Borough had made “good progress” where
needed since its previous review in 2017 and was already well aware of
further work required, thanks to a positive shift in strategic
leadership and the culture of the organisation.
Councillor
Andrew Johnson, the council leader, said: “This has been valuable
independent validation of how far we’ve come as a council, highlighting
good progress and positive change made in recent years, as well as our
own clear awareness and sense of direction for where further
improvements are needed.
"I’m
pleased we’re well underway with implementing some of the actions
highlighted as recommendations, such as embedding the Corporate Plan."
|
|
Community thanked as Defra lifts 3km bird flu zone around Eton
Defra
has now lifted the temporary 3km captive bird monitoring controlled
zone that it established in January 2022 around the River Thames at Eton
in response to bird flu cases identified there in several swans. This
indicates that, following successful checks and monitoring of both
captive and wild birds in that radius, Defra is confident the disease is
under effective control locally.
The
Royal Borough would like to thank all bird keepers who completed our
surveillance survey, providing valuable information about your birds,
and worked with the council’s Trading Standards and Defra vets to help
minimise the spread and protect local wildfowl, poultry farms and your
own birds.
Please remember that the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone
remains in place across the UK, which includes a legal requirement for
all bird keepers across the UK, regardless of flock size, to continue to
keep your birds indoors and follow strict biosecurity measures to limit
the spread of the disease.
We’re
also pleased to be able to lift, with immediate effect, the
precautionary dogs-on-leads requirement that was in place along the
riverbanks at Windsor and Eton, and to end our request not to feed the
swans there.
|
|
Events and projects planned to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
A range of events and projects are being planned by the Royal Borough to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year.
Her
Majesty became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum
Jubilee on 6 February, marking 70 years of service to the United Kingdom
and Commonwealth.
To celebrate this unprecedented anniversary, there will be Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place throughout the year, building to celebrations over the extended Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June.
Upcoming events include:
-
A 21 Gun Salute on the Long Walk, Windsor
(Thursday 21 April) – Led by the Mayor, Councillor John Story, the
event is planned to mark Her Majesty’s 96th birthday. A number of
children attending the event will be invited to fire a cannon
-
The Mayor’s Platinum Jubilee Children’s Party at Windsor Guildhall (Monday 23 May) – Two children, aged between five and 11 from all schools in the borough will be invited to attend the party
-
Town Criers competition at Salisbury Tower, Windsor
(Saturday 20 August) - Around 20 official Town Criers will parade in
their ceremonial liveries before competing in a day-long competition.
|
|
Free school holiday activity and food programme returns for children eligible for free school meals
A
successful free holiday activities and food programme helping children
eligible for free school meals is returning to the Royal Borough this
Easter.
Our programme is called Feed Ur Everyday Lives (FUEL) and aims to provide additional support to vulnerable children.
It
is delivered by Achieving for Children (AFC), our children’s services
partner, with funding from the Department for Education. It is for
children aged five to 16 years old who are eligible for free school
meals.
The
programme will offer a range of activities across the Easter holidays,
as well as during the summer break and Christmas holidays this year –
the same as last year’s programme.
Activities
include sports sessions and the opportunity to learn outdoor skills
including forest den building, firelighting and campfire cooking. There
will also be performing arts, arts and crafts, indoor games, food
education, an escape room activity, and sensory activities for children
with special education needs.
|
|
Reminder: Help inform next stage of planning for South West Maidenhead
We're
inviting the community to help inform plans for a major development
area, South West Maidenhead, which will bring forward new homes,
community facilities, infrastructure, employment space and improved
public access to green space.
To
get involved and find out more, you are invited to attend our themed
online events, where you will also be able to submit live questions. The
two forthcoming sessions are:
- Connectivity – Wednesday 6 April 2022, 6.30pm
- Sustainability and the Environment – Wednesday 13 April 2022, 7.15pm
We
held our first session, on the theme of Community Needs, earlier this
week. If you were not able to attend, a recording will be made available
soon on our YouTube channel so you can catch up.
|
|
Upcoming jobs fair to support local job seekers and employers
The Royal Borough is working with JobCentre Plus to stage a jobs fair at the Nicholson Shopping Centre in Maidenhead on Thursday 7 April between 10am and 1pm.
Local jobseekers will have the
opportunity to connect with employers looking for staff to fill their
vacancies. Employers, large and small, across a variety of sectors will
be attending so this is an ideal forum for candidates to understand the
local jobs market and the skills required to be successful in their
applications.
The event will not only help support residents by providing more
information on the job opportunities available in the borough, but also
give businesses a chance to recruit staff.
Those interested can just turn up on the day. If you would like
further information, please contact Maidenhead JobCentre Plus on 0845 604 3719 or email samuel.oyewusi@dwp.gov.uk
|
|
Royal Borough’s White Ribbon campaign shortlisted for national award
We’re
finalists in the national CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public
Relations) Excellence Awards for our White Ribbon campaign with The
Dash Charity and other partners, which called on everyone in our
community to take a collective stand against male violence, abuse and
harassment towards women.
As
part of the 16 days of national activism following White Ribbon Day
2021, we encouraged everyone to lead by example, to question abusive
attitudes and behaviours in others, call out sexism and make the White
Ribbon promise to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male
violence towards women.
We
also raised awareness of the valuable work in the Royal Borough to help
keep both women and men safe, the support available to all victims, and
the several ways people can report and get help if they’re scared,
threatened, or abused: whether in a domestic setting or on a night out.
Well
done to our in-house Communications Team for developing and delivering
this important campaign, and a big thank you to the many people and
organisations that lent their support. The winners will be announced on Wednesday 8 June.
|
|
Upcoming engineering work on Ascot trainline
This Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (Friday 15 to Monday 18 April), Network Rail will be undertaking engineering works in the Ascot area.
During
the works, the train lines from Ash Vale to Ascot will be closed all
day. A replacement bus service will be in place between Ascot and
Aldershot.
Sunningdale
level crossing will also be closed for the whole weekend as part of
these works, and this will affect bus journey times. Please allow
additional time if you plan to travel to/from this station.
|
|
New Heatherwood Hospital opens
Earlier this week, the first patients were treated at Frimley Health’s new Heatherwood Hospital.
The
facility, which has been constructed behind the site of the existing
Heatherwood Hospital, will help to reduce waiting times for patients and
bring some of the best planned care services in the country to
residents.
The 11,500 square metre hospital supports non-emergency procedures and includes:
-
Six state-of-the-art laminar flow operating theatres. Optimised for orthopaedic procedures with one dedicated to ophthalmology. Operations are set to place six days a week
-
48 in-patient beds including 20 individual en-suite side rooms all making the most of the woodland views
-
22 day-case pods. Specially designed day care procedure rooms allow more patients to be treated for ‘minor’ procedures
|
|
Royal Borough community spotlight
Here are just some of the upcoming community events in the Royal Borough:
-
Kaleidoscope dance performance
– (Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April) – Furze Platt Senior School Theatre.
Come and see 200 local children aged three to 18 years, perform a
production celebrating colour! From classical ballet, to street and
commercial, tap dance, modern dance, contemporary and Acro! All proceeds
go to Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice and Breast Cancer. Tickets
are available on the Stage Stubs website
-
Fundraising Concert for Ukraine –
(Thursday 28 April 6.45pm) – Windsor Parish Church. St George’s School
Windsor Castle is holding a fundraising concert to raise money for the
Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The
event will begin with a champagne and canapé reception followed by a
performance of Fauré Requiem by the Chamber Choir, accompanied by a
professional music ensemble. Tickets are priced at £35 (Under 16s
go free) and can be booked on the Eventbrite page
-
Animal Farm at the Old Court, Windsor
– (Wednesday 6 to Saturday 9 April) – Windsor Theatre Guild will
perform George Orwell’s world-famous and unsettling 'fairy story' as
originally based on the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath.
With its themes of freedom, fake news and the corrupting nature of
power, it is as relevant today as when it was written at the end of the
Second World War. Visit the Old Court website to learn more and book tickets
-
Warmer Greener Homes
– Taking place throughout April, the Royal Borough Climate Community
are hosting nearly 30 activities to help residents deal with the
increased cost of living and the growing threat of the climate
emergency. The activities will cover a diverse range of topics, from
fixing draughts and retrofitting insulation in your home, to seedling
exchanges and growing plants for pollinators. The activities will take
place in Maidenhead, Windsor, Cookham and White Waltham. Visit the RBWM Climate Community website for more details
-
Sign up for ‘Crafty Workshops’ –
Craft Coop Windsor is offering a range of workshops across April and
May in their Windsor Yards workshop space including painting and Easter
hare in watercolour, beginners’ sewing or cross stitch, recycled
glass-painting and jewellery making. There are also free Open Craft
Circles for anyone who wants to bring their own crafts and meet other
makers. Visit their Facebook page to learn more
-
Clewer and Dedworth Community Easter Fair
– (Saturday 9 April 11am-2pm) - Woody's Cafe and Hall, Clewer Memorial
Recreation Ground. Enjoy artisan market stalls, family fun and games,
and buy your Easter Bunny Trail Maps at the Clewer and Dedworth
Community Easter Fair. Free entry
-
Take part in local litter picks
– If you’d like to join a local litter, please check out our Clean Up
Operations webpage. It aims to support and promote those in the
community who do their bit to create a cleaner environment. You can also
see when a local litter pick is happening near you and share your
litter picking stories and pictures. Visit the RBWM Together website to learn more
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 19,000 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:
|
|
M4 closures
The M4 is due to be closed eastbound only between Junctions 8/9
(Maidenhead) and 6 (Slough-Windsor) from 8pm today until 6am on Monday 4
April.
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.
|
|
Keep in touch
Other accounts you may be interested in:
|
|
|
|
|
