Clewer East Catch-Up: January 2021

January 2021

Happy New Year! We hope you had a lovely Christmas. In this newsletter we review some of the events of December, provide some useful New Year reminders and share Covid updates.

Christmas Tree Collections

The Thames Hospice and Alexander Devine Hospice collections may have been completed this week but if you still have a real Christmas tree to recycle, you can drop it off to The Manor on Hanover Way until Sunday 17 January. Please do not leave trees at Clewer Rec as this isn't a collection point this year but we have asked for it to be reinstated for next year.

Bin Collections

We are still on a holiday schedule so it's worth checking your bin collection day for this week:

Climate Emergency Strategy and Plastic Free Strategy

We are delighted that the Cabinet passed the revised Climate Emergency Strategy at its meeting on 17 December and thank all the residents who gave their time to provide comments on the draft strategy. As a result the strategy has been strengthened, particularly in updating the trajectory for reducing carbon emissions to use the Tyndall Centre methodology in line with the Paris agreement.

We are also glad that the updated strategy recognises the concerns expressed by local residents around air quality in the borough. At Cabinet, Karen called for - and received - a commitment to further action on this issue, which is a particular concern in Clewer East given the two Air Quality Management Areas in the ward.

As founder members of Plastic Free Windsor, we were also very happy to see the single use plastic strategy written by fellow team members passed as part of the climate emergency strategy. Working together with community groups is going to be essential to achieving progress with the climate emergency strategy. Get in touch with Karen at karen@windsorlibdems.org.uk if you want to find out more or get involved.

Budget

The draft revenue budget 2021/22 has been published and as you might expect, significant savings are being proposed in all areas including the reduction in the number of Community Wardens; the end of street planting and Borough in Bloom competitions; reductions in library hours and book funding to name a few. We have also learnt of the proposed closure of Windsor Day Centre and the Oakbridge Centre in Imperial Road and have already been speaking with families who will be affected by this.

For the first time in many years, the council are consulting with residents on the draft budget. Have your say here until 29 January. There is also the opportunity to question officers and Lead Members at Overview and Scrutiny panels in the next few weeks, so if there is anything you would like us to raise on your behalf, please get in touch.


Park Carpark Charges

One line in the budget refers to charges being introduced for rural carparks, so we were very surprised to learn this week that Clewer Memorial Recreation Ground is to be included in this. Only the first 30 minutes parking will be free but no pay and display machines will be installed. Parking will have to be paid for by mobile phone or app, which we think discriminates against some older people, who may not have a smart phone.

We are also concerned about the the impact on our new community café, which has just had a large capital investment from the council, as well as grassroots sports such as the youth football teams, who meet at the park (Covid regulations allowing). The knock-on effect of cars spilling out onto neighbouring roads could endanger school children walking to nearby schools.

Within a few days of launching our campaign and petition we had over 1000 signatures across Windsor and Maidenhead. Local campaigner Adam Bermange has now started a petition on the RBWM website and we would encourage everyone to also sign this one.

Amy at Clewer Rec

Windsor Town Council Update

Karen is a member of the community governance review working group. This cross-party group has considered the comments from individuals and groups submitted during the first consultation phase, which closed at the end of October, and is formulating draft recommendations.

These draft proposals will be going out for consultation in February. We will remind you when this second consultation phase opens but in the meantime you can find out more about the review on the RBWM website at Community governance reviews | Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (rbwm.gov.uk)

Park User Groups

A reminder that if you use and care about our local parks and would like to join others to form a park user group, please email Amy for Clewer Recreation Ground or Karen for Imperial Park. We will support you to set up the committee and facilitate access to Parks Officers. We all value our open spaces, especially during Covid-19, so it would be great to get this project off the ground.

Windsor Town Forum

Residents are invited to suggest discussion topics for the next Windsor Town Forum on Wednesday 27 January. To submit topics for discussion and find out how you can attend (online) and speak at a meeting, email Fatima Rehman. . You can also watch the meeting live on YouTube.

Covid-19

Covid-19 cases are still very high in the borough. We have recently had an update from officers, and they tell us that hospitals are under massive pressure at the moment, and are cancelling even some urgent surgery. So it's vital that we take the Stay at Home message seriously and only go out if it's essential.

If you are in one of the top four priority groups for the vaccination, you should be called in the next 5 to 6 weeks. *Please don't call your surgery* Some of them have been overwhelmed with calls about appointments, making it difficult to deal with urgent calls.

Covid-19 Support Website

The council has a page dedicated to offering support and advice during Covid-19. This includes the Winter Support Scheme, which is designed to help households deal with the financial challenges of winter, including children eligible for free school meals as well as other vulnerable families and individuals. If you think you or someone you know might be eligible for help, please get in touch with the council for more information.

Covid-19 Data

To gain a better idea of the spread and level of infection locally and in comparison to our neighbouring authorities, check out the Covid Data-Dashboard from Public Health Berkshire. It's presented in a simple visual way and is easy to navigate.

Ward Work

Rubbish bins seem to be filling up faster than they can be emptied around the ward at the moment so Amy has reported a number while on her daily exercise. If you spot one that needs attention, you can let us know or report it online.

December Meetings

Amy:
Members' Covid 19 briefing (2 December)
One Borough Meeting (8 December)
Adult Social Care Transformation Briefing (9 December)
Overview and Scrutiny Task and Finish Group- Streams of funding to support Children in Care and Care Leavers (9 December)
Shadow Lead Briefing- Children (9 December)
Budget briefing (9 December)
Corporate Parenting Forum (10 December)
Full Council (15 December)
Shadow Lead Member Briefing- Adults (16 December)
Royal Borough Development Management Panel (16 December)
Embedding Community Response Member Update (17 December)
Cabinet (17 December)
Visit to Thames Hospice (18 December)

Karen:
Community governance review working group (1 December)
Members' Covid 19 briefing (2 December)
Shadow lead member briefing - sustainability, parks and countryside (7 December)
Members' Covid 19 briefing (9 December)
Budget briefing (9 December)
Full Council (15 December)
Cycling Action Group (16 December)
Windsor Public Space proposals briefing (17 December)
Cabinet (17 December)
Community governance review working group (18 December)

And Finally...

We know that things are tough at the moment during this second lock-down. Many residents are juggling work as well as helping their children access remote learning- no easy task! People are worried about their businesses; others are lonely and missing friends and family. We are all longing for an end to this pandemic and a return to 'normal' life. Please do go easy on yourselves and reach out for help if you need it.

Please share the link to our email with a friend who might like to read it and encourage them to sign up,

Cllr. Amy Tisi (amy@windsorlibdems.org.uk)
Cllr. Karen Davies (karen@windsorlibdems.org.uk)