Summary of my proposed direction drawn from analysing the feedback from over 200 residents and cross referencing with what it is likely to be possible to invest the CIL monies in. I have come up with this short list which I will follow up with officers and developers to see what can be done.
SAFETY
- Invest in cameras for the new estate and also along Dedworth Road & Maidenhead Road.
- Bike security is a must if we are to encourage more cycling in Windsor. Could the Cycle Hub run a secure bike hub in Windsor?
- Collating pollution counts, ensuring we have more, say 30, measuring points across Windsor, potentially mobile, so we can assess if improvements are being made.
YOUTH FACILITY
- Is the “boiler room” at Dedworth Library a suitable location and what would it cost to turn this into a community space for young people, run by young people? As well as CIL are there other grants available?
BUS ROUTE
- Would a fast bus from Maidenhead to Windsor (railway stations) be used by residents and reduce the number of car journeys as a result. I strongly feel we should test this out over 3 years and see if residents will use it.
Residents also said through the survey that they want any extra bits of land protected by an arrangement with the WAMCLT. This is not CIL but I wanted to mention it at the start to underline its importance to residents.
I’ve been working with fellow Cllrs, officers and developers on this project for a couple of years.
As AL21 has become more likely since the adoption of the Borough Local Plan, which was pushed through by the Conservative Administration at the start of this year even though there was massive resistance from opposition Cllrs and local residents, I have been proactive in ensuring the best possible results for our residents.
I should also like to point out there is no guarantee that the planning application for AL21 will get the nod at the Windsor Development Panel meeting sometime in the autumn which will have 5 Conservative voting members and 4 Opposition voting members.
For me, representing my local residents is all about listening to what they have to say, balancing that with what is possible, knowing what is probably already decided and having an appreciation of what needs to happen to make for a better community environment.
When I shared my approach to the AL21 Planning Application back in May, I talked of air pollution, new bus route, boundary walls and ensuring the small plots of land are protected.
When I had discussions at the end of June with the lead officer of Infrastructure I put forward the new bus route, cleaning up an existing cycle route and redeveloping an existing community centre as leading suggestions for CIL. We agreed that while Cllrs may have some ideas, it was only reasonable to invite ideas from residents.
2nd July I pushed out an invitation via my Love Windsor blog and shared it via social media channels. This resulted in a number of ideas coming forward from residents and RBWM’s Youth Council.
AL21 Survey Results
On 16th August I shared an invitation to vote on 13 ideas and invited more suggestions. I included 3 of the new suggestions into the survey the next day. By the weekend I’d had 67 responses and so sent out another note via social media channels saying it would be good to have 101. By the morning of 23rd August I had 204 and decided this was representative and pulled the results together.
The survey was open to anyone but it’s fair to assume the vast majority of responses actually have a vested interest in Windsor and so it is, to my mind, representative of the local population.
The voting scale for each question was 1 to 5, with 5 being must have.
I will be publishing this document on the web and sharing via the social media channels used to share it in the first place. I will also look to invite comments from those not on social media by producing an A5 summary which I will deliver locally to my ward and ask for feedback.
Here are the scores for the 16 topics, with the most popular at the top, with additional comments mixed in and added at the end.
- Improve the state of pavements so that residents can walk without fear of tripping and breaking a limb. 4.28
There were a number of comments about the state of the highways. The reality is we have around £2m a year to spend on highway maintenance. I did some rough calculations a few months ago and we’d need £100m a year to have perfect roads and pavements.
Residents also made comments about parking on pavements and the state of the hedges encroaching the footway. These are things that residents can improve themselves by simply being more considerate of their neighbours. If hedges belong to residents then Report It is the perfect tool. Parking on pavements was going through Gov but I believe has been dropped.
- Put any spare land from the development into a Community Land Trust to protect them from being sold off at auction at a later date. 4.22
In second spot, I assume prompted by all the plots that keep being sold around Wolf Lane and Hemwood Road much to the consternation of local residents who don’t want the worry that someone might build on what is and should always remain green space. The CLT could protect that land and some good news, they have just received Lottery Funding to help them with their work… well done Clare Milne and her team.
They are already talking to Wates and this reinforces the importance that those conversations go well.
- Cameras in the main roads and in high theft areas. 3.98
There has been a great deal of investment in cameras but do they really protect us as well as we’d like? They obviously need to be pointing in the right direction when something happens. Costs are much lower than they used to be and they certainly are a good deterrent. Perhaps some consideration around building a few cameras at key points and installing “Ringo” style door bells on each property would be a sensible approach.
- New community facility specifically for the Youth of Windsor. 3.92
From a CIL Funding view point, this appears to be the favourite option. And having just seen that South West Trains have some funing, preferably matched funding, available then turning the old boiler house at Dedworth School / Library into a place run by and for the Youth of Windsor’s Youth population would make sense. There will be a number of conversations to have with various parties to get this off the ground but worth the effort… I have already started.
- Focus more on greening Windsor and making it more natural. 3.92
Some of the land around the building above could perhaps be turned into allotment space for a community youth project to learn more about the food chain and what’s good for them.
People like the idea of wild flowers but then they don’t like it looking messy so there needs to be a balance. Also on corners of roads there are safety issues. Community orchard was mentioned but they need a lot of watering and it will take years for them to mature which doesn’t sit with the need for instant wins, solutions and the patience of residents who get involved at the start but drift off. I believe one is included in the plans.
The developers are looking to enhance biodiversity in their plans.
- Work out ways to improve bike security in Windsor. 3.85
This is a topic that the Police and Cycle Hubs need to address but is a topic that is important to people. It would make sense to have secure parking in Windsor town centre for bicycles but it would probably need a commercial investor to step up.
There was a comment about unregulated scooters being taken off the road. Perhaps we need to see how Slough are getting on with their scooter project.
- Update the play parks for younger children. 3.69
Children’s play equipment in parks is incredibly expensive, coming in at around £10k for 1 piece! How about mixing up helping the biodiversity of the area by creating spaces where young people can watch nature at work and learn how they all interact to pollinate flowers and food that we eat. That would be of educational value and essential knowledge moving forward.
- Increase in number of air quality pollutants measured and create multiple measuring sites across Windsor. 3.65
In conversations I am having with the lead officer on air quality it would seem that while there are a number of elements we need to keep an eye on, half are looked after by the Government as they drift massively in the air. We are responsible for just 3 core elements … conversation ongoing.
- Improve facilities at Hanover Way, specifically the New Windsor Community Association building. 3.61
While important to some, this element fell in the bottom half of the survey and will probably need huge grants from external sources to make it a reality.
- Bring back more of the flower planters 3.41
The planters need maintenance and again, while residents are keen to start with, it falls to a few dedicated gardeners to do most of the work.
- Improve the walking facilities in existing parks. 3.40
If you don’t struggle yourself to walk on the grass then many will wonder what the problem is but I suspect that’s why it fell down the list. Older people need smoother surfaces, note the pavement vote in top spot.
- New Bus route that travels quickly (ideally 30 mins max) and regularly (aiming for 2 an hour at peak times) between Windsor & Eton Riverside Railways Station and Maidenhead Railway Station. 3.29
This fell into the bottom section but the reality is, we are not going to improve air pollution unless there are fewer cars on the road. People are impatient and so will use their car or pay for a taxi if the public transport isn’t fast enough to make practical sense. So those who will drive anyway will see little value in this. Only by making a service that attracts drivers can we hope to reduce pollution and traffic on our roads.
- Protect the Willows Boundary Walls with sympathetic development around them. 3.29
This will only be important to those who live nearby or are interested in history. We are asking the developers to be considerate towards the boundary wall.
- More benches facilitating rest between AL21 and Windsor town centre. 3.25
Benches are great for older people walking into town but maybe not for residents whose homes have a bench outside as it can attract noise in the evening. Thought would need to be given to positioning.
- Create a segregated cycle path along the Dedworth Road. 3.23
Cycling gets a very mixed response. If some cyclists demonstrated more consideration on the roads and pavements then this may have scored higher. One comment “Cyclist’s don’t use cycle paths!”
- Improve the cycle link between West Windsor and Bray, especially just past Oakley Court, heading to Bray. 3.21
There needs to be a balanced approach and existing assets need to be improved at the very least.
Other Comments
Many residents don’t appreciate what is the responsibility of Gov, Councils and private individuals and businesses. That said, here are some of the other comments made with added commentary from me.
There were a number of comments about cheaper parking in town and bringing back the Advantage Card. The administration would be wise to listen to the public on this.
Talk of better shops in town, more cafes because garden centres are gone, cleaner, tidier shopping experience on Dedworth Road. Much of that comes down to the retailers. Who choses to open up a retail outlet and the effort they put into cleaning up around them.
Dr Surgery and Dentist. I know the former is governed by the NHS and they are looking at more ways to enable the community to help itself. Existing surgeries are under immense pressure.
Many comments about litter and bins. If you put bins then you have to pay for someone to empty them. We have ended up with DECOs issuing fines because some people are lazy and just litter because they can’t be bothered to wait to find a bin. That’s an educational shift and I am hopeful that younger generations are more thoughtful and we’ll see a shift in future years.
A call for more Police and Wardens. They are both going in the opposite direction and CIL will not help with either. You need to write to your local Cllr about Wardens and your MP about the lack of Policing.
Lighting in Osgood Park was mentioned. This is massively expensive for any benefit it might bring and has been pushed back a number of times as there is no case for it. It is also not that close to AL21 so of limited weight.
Public conveniences in town were mentioned but have no bearing on the CIL from this application. They are in a disgraceful state and they need to be improved but there is no money.
There needs to be more consideration for our older generations with calls for SMILE to be reintroduced. Better information sources for things that are happening for all but with thought for the elderly who have time on their hands but might not be computer savvy.
A couple of mentions of the bridge that was promised at the time of the Olympics. I joined some dots on that at the time and got an architect involved. Dedworth would like to connect to Eton Wick but I believe Eton Wick is happy to remain disconnected.
Someone mentioned quieter planes… yes please 😉
And someone joked about providing truly affordable homes! I shouldn’t be flippant but who actually believes that any homes described as “affordable” are to the the majority of young people today?
Thank you.
Cllr Jon Davey
The bicycles, and public transport v cars is quite clear in your post, (as per Gov’t wishes), but this only works in cities.
To impose this on suburban areas is inappropriate.
In a perfect world we would all be young, healthy and fit and we would buy our fresh groceries from local shops on a daily basis. We would not need to visit a doctor or go to the hospital and would jog or cycle to the gym.
The truth is that those who are not in the above bracket, rely mostly on our cars to get about.
Bicycles and electric scooters, the “big saviours” are not only dangerous to us and are sadly something of the past for our abilities.
So where does that leave this very large number of residents? Stuck at home?
It is not that we are just impatient, as you say, it is that we need our own transport because we find it hard to walk to and stand in the sun, wind and rain for a bus. Then of course if we need to carry anything other than a ham sandwich and a wallet or purse we start to suffer, so any shopping is out of the question.
Why are the powers that be so fixated on this flawed misconception that bikes et al are the answer to all our pollution problems. Have they not heard of electric cars that are making a larger and larger presence.
Let’s accept and indeed promote this form of transport, along with subsidies on EV panels.
That way we would continue to have our independence, retain our ability to get about easily as well as producing free electricity for ourselves and the national grid.
My point is that this would benefit all, and it is so important to remember to allow for roads and adequate parking to be included in developments and not to just try to increase density which will cause slums,
It is well known too that criminals like alleyways and pedestrian areas where policing is particularly difficult.
A big rethink is required in local planning to prevent this happening to send a message to central government that their ideas about transport do not apply to areas like ours and the dangers that go along with this.