INTRODUCTION
A month dominated by our financial situation. Its all gearing up to the Council Budget meeting on 27 February. The reality of the severity of the cuts having to be made is sinking in. So Helen and Mark Wilson (councillor for Eton and Castle) created a post to explain the financial situation in what they hope is an easy to understand way. This has been widely circulated on social media and can be seen here on Next Door.
CADENT WORKS DEDWORTH ROAD
These haven’t gone as smoothly as they should. Helen has been liaising with the Cadent Supervisor and RBWM Highways.
She was surprised that they took such a long stretch out after completing the four way lights and she raised this with Highways. These have now been moved further along so its two way lights and much faster. This work should be finished at the end of next week ie 9 Feb I understand the last day will be completing jobs at the Clarence Road roundabout. We have learnt that staff on this job aren’t Cadent employees but are on piece rate. So once they have completed the week’s jobs they go home, hence why on Fridays they appear to leave early. They are also restricted in what they can do by the permits they are issued on a weekly basis so can’t get in advance of themselves. It hasn’t helped on this job that staff have been abused both physically and verbally, which is totally unacceptable, so she doubts the same crew will return as the north side has yet to be completed. Some of the staff are young as they are apprentices . We are told none of the local residents abused them, it was motorists. We have apologised for this unacceptable behaviour.
PARKS
Helen did a walkabout including our Parks and noted that some items reported on numerous occasions over the last couple of years were still there. We lost our Parks Manager last year, he had only been with us six months, and the position was vacant for around a year before that. So it’s not surprising things haven’t progressed but boy it’s disappointing.
Helen noticed a few trees marked with a red dot, ie to be felled. Are you aware of this map which shows you which trees have recently been “dealt with” and work to come? https://mol.rbwm.gov.uk/mol/inc/confirm_jobs/trees
ROAD MARKINGS
Over a year ago Church Mews residents association approached Helen regarding difficulties of exiting onto the Dedworth Road, as people parked right up to the corner. Parking agreed the solution was double yellow lines to allow those exiting to have visibility. The lines are now down and the yellow is so bright you need sunglasses!
Helen is chasing again the halt road sign for Duncroft and the lack of a central line on Smiths Lane following the resurfacing.
The alleyway connecting Dedworth Road and St Andrews Crescent has been resurfaced, this time with tarmac. This makes it much easier for those who not so steady on the feet, as some residents had told Helen they didn’t use the alleyway for fear of tripping. It was reported this around a year ago so it is good that it is done. Alison is dealing with a couple of issues regarding damage done to neighbouring fences and spoke to the residents and took photos.
BOOTS DEDWORTH ROAD
Boots on Dedworth Road has now closed. The new owners take over on Monday 5 Feb and are in the same group as Hetpoles. Hetpoles will be hekping out with stock to ensure a good transition.
PLANTERS AND FLOWER TROUGHS
To Helen’s delight the bulbs are poking through the flower troughs on the railings at Smiths Lane/Dedworth Road. However at the Boots (soon to be renamed) flower bed they are a bit shy. Whilst the forget-me-nots have taken the bulbs are taking their time to peak through. Helen is liaising with Tivoli over getting the big hedge cut back a lot and perhaps the smaller bushes given a trim.
HAVE YOUR SAY AT DEDWORTH LIBRARY
Our local PCSO Megan Webb holds a session at least once a month to answer any questions relating to the police. Helen tries to go along in case a resident has a question relating to council matters. It also gives Helen a chance to raise concerns she has relating to crimes, ASB etc. Megan has various leaflets and anti theft devices to be given away. We have a new permanent Neighbourhood Inspector Natasha Gidda. We have had two temporary appointments over the last couple of years so a permanent appointment is really welcome.
SAWYERS CLOSE UPDATE
Now this major development has been approved the work begins. Abri are liaising with us to ensure we’re up to date with their plans. They have to put in for planning permission for different things, ,eg for the demolition of the garages. The first phase will the demolition of the garages on the North East corner where the major play area will be constructed. Once this is up-and-running they will remove the existing play area and begin clearing Sawyers Close Open Space and begin construction of the first phase. They are yet to map out the full timeline and phasing for the whole scheme. Alison was there to meet the project director on site and the residents also had the chance to go along and meet him and have their questions answered.
WINDSOR & ETON FC
Alison continues to support our local football team and has been to all the local adult team matches. It was sad that they didn’t make it to the final of the Charles Twelftree Cup, but they did well getting to the semi-final. Let’s hope they have great success in the main league where they are currently 3rd with 3 games in hand. It’s not in our ward but good to see so many of our Clewer & Dedworth East residents there and have a good chat with them.
ABRI WALK ABOUT
Helen spent a couple of hours with Abri’s Grounds and Estates Senior Operations Manager walking round the Abri estate pointing out areas of concerns, eg overgrown shrubs, fly tipping, the state of the drying areas. Etc. He discovered that the drying areas weren’t on the Abri map, which is why no one has been scheduled to keep them clear. Helen was somewhat astounded as she has been “nagging” Abri about the state of these for over four years.
CORPORATE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL
Helen is an active member of this Panel. Both Agenda items this month were finance related so Helen took the opportunity to ask about the risks of the Senior Officers declaring a S114. Whilst the budget itself is balanced and officers are confident it is realistic, (unlike the current budget), the reserves are worrying low, and officers will have to decide prior to the February Cabinet meeting if they are sufficient for 24/25. If not a S114 will be declared, which means an Administrator is appointed by the Government, who will stop any non-statutory services (unless there are contractural obligations). Helen asked and was told that central government are likely to give us an additional £1m from the pot recently announced. This would go straight into reserves but is insignificant against the sums we need.
CABINET
Helen attends Cabinet meetings in person and invariably ask questions, mainly to seek clarification. It was made clear that we are in a VERY precarious financial situation. Mark Wilson (who attended virtually) and Helen have put their heads together to produce a post explaining our financial situation. Helen brought up that there was poor communication when a consultation closed and residents needed to know the results and decisions made BEFORE these were implemented. Helen is meeting with the Head of Comms to go through the process and suggest a better way.
THAMES HOSPICE CHARITY SHOP FLY TIPPING
On 1st January Alison saw that a lot of bags had been left outside the Thames Hospice Charity Shop on Dedworth Road. On closer inspection it appeared some of this was rubbish. It was very sad to see because all bags have to be thrown away. Thanks to Daniel Roberts-Green and Adrian Hobbs for helping all the staff at the shop the next morning and clearing it away. We would hope the large signs urging people to not leave bags out of hours might have been adhered to but sadly not.
SAVE THE MUSEUM
Alison feels passionately about saving the Windsor museum and is trying to work with various groups on looking at options for its future. The campaign has turned into a political pawn but that should not be the case – Alison also supported the museum when it was threatened with closure in 2020, and will continue to do so.
YOUTUBE
All Council meetings are recorded on Youtube, but unlike Minutes are removed after two years. Helen requested, under transparency and openness, that they be kept as long as the Minutes. This was agreed and from now on, will be the case. So if anyone wants to know what your councillors are contributing to these meetings, have a look on the RBWM YouTube channel.
PLANNING MEETING
Alison attended the planning meeting. One of the items for discussion was the installation of a giant ferris wheel on Alexandra Gardens in Windsor town centre. Alison voted against this but it was voted through with a majority. Alison’s main concern was the way the park had been maintained during the Windsor on Ice, especially in respect of the memorial benches. This is something the council needs to address. It will bring in a good income to the council so there is a positive.
DEDWORTH MANOR LODGE
We were made aware of workmen clearing the garden and removing the shed at Dedworth Manor Lodge in Maidenhead Road. This is a derelict building that had planning permission refused a couple of years ago. The building is a non-designated heritage site so cannot just be demolished and built over without careful consideration and planning. Alison has been in regular contact with the owner who understands this. Unfortunately there was a lot of unnecessary unattended burning of garden waste at the end of January. The council environmental team were made aware. Let’s hope that this building and land can be redeveloped in keeping with the surroundings and keeping the history of the building alive.
CONSULTATIONS
Dog control/fouling and Cycling in pedestrian areas. https://rbwmtogether.rbwm.gov.uk/consultation-for-continuation-of-public-space-protection-orders Closing 26 February. Alison found out that in the previous 3 years there have been 5 fines for cycling and none for dog fouling.
RESIDENTS ISSUES
Homelessness, Abri issues, Hedges overhanging paths, footpath repairs, planning, damaged fences.
MEETINGS
Abri x 3, Cabinet Member for Parks, Chair of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel, PCSO’s at Dedworth Library x 2, LEP briefing, Windsor Foodshare, CIL and Windsor Neighbourhood Delivery Group, Cabinet, Centrica, Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel, Chairing training, Planning