Freedom of Information (FOI) Act Request 7th May 2021 - Summary

1. GL Hearn Plans for Development at / around Alexandra Gardens

In 2017 the Conservative Council commissioned planning consultants GL Hearn (part of the Capita Group) to produce plans for development at Alexandra Gardens. Gl Hearn had previously been commissioned by the Conservatives to produce plans for Maidenhead Town Centre. The plans produced have remained secret ever since, despite the Conservative Council press release their initial decision to commission the plans.

Liberal Democrats in Windsor have been running our Windsor Riverside Development Consultation since last year online survey since last year and have just over 600 respondents at the time of writing. Results so far show no support of any kind for the Conservative proposals to develop at Alexandra Gardens Car Park, Alexandra Gardens Coach Park or on Baths Island in the River Thames.

Lib Dems in Windsor are furious to discover money available for crossings in Windsor has not been spent at Mill Lane.

Questions have again been raised about how the council prioritises its spending, which were also raised in the recent report by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) into the council's administration, after the installation of a new duplicate pedestrian crossing in Alma Road less than 80 metres from an existing crossing in a location with light footfall.

Local Liberal Democrats have expressed fury at the failure of the council to implement their own plans to provide a traffic light controlled TOUCAN crossing at the Mill Lane Junction on Maidenhead Road, after a second child was run over at the accident blackspot on Thursday night.

The last serious accident here was in September last year. Mill Lane Junction has been recognised as an accident blackspot for years and is the third worst accident blackspot in Berskshire for cyclists.

Liberal Democrats in Windsor have called on the council to address longstanding requests to improve road safety at key locations to encourage walking and cycling in preference to the "Active Travel Plans" produced by the Conservative Council following top down rules imposed by the Conservative Government.