Clewer East Catch-Up: May 2020

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Parks and Open Spaces

As lockdown rules are eased, we're receiving more reports of littering and antisocial behaviour. Please do get in touch if you notice a litter problem, and we'll get it cleaned up for you. If you are the parent of a teenager who is spending time in our parks, you may want to have a conversation about drugs and alcohol with them. We are seeing numerous nitrous oxide (laughing gas) ampoules, balloons and empty aerosol cans, as well as alcoholic drinks cans and bottles. If you have concerns, you can seek help here.

Children's Centres - Update

On 30th April, Cabinet approved a report to effectively close down many of the borough's children's and youth centres, replacing them with a smaller number of Family Hubs. Lib Dems (including Amy) and independent councillor, Helen Price, called the decision in because we didn't feel the process was being carried out correctly, and this could have left the council exposed to legal action. Fortunately, the scrutiny panel agreed and the paper has gone back to Cabinet for further work. We will continue to fight for our children's centres because we know how much you value them.

Parking Permits- Update

Amy and Boyn Hill Lib Dem Community activist, Adam Bermange, challenged the Conservatives over their decision to revoke the free residents' parking permits and force them to apply for a £50 permit from the end of July. After consulting the legal team, at the most recent cabinet meeting, the lead member apologised and confirmed that permits will be allowed to expire before residents are charged. Anyone who has already bought a new permit before their old one expires can apply for a refund. We know that Resident Parking Permits are an important issue in our ward so you can see our latest campaign here. You can fill in the survey, sign the petition and print out your own window poster.

Changes to Planning Panels

Controversial plans to scrap the separate Windsor and Maidenhead development panels were approved by the ruling Conservatives at a full council meeting on 26th May despite criticism from opposition councillors and residents including parish councils. We argued that these changes are not necessary now that online meetings are up and running and proposed an amendment, which was rejected, to review the changes earlier. The panel will be made up of 9 councillors from across the borough and will consider major planning applications as well as those 'called-in' by councillors in their ward.

RBWM Climate Emergency Declaration

A year ago this month, the Council declared a climate emergency and committed to producing a strategy for achieving net zero carbon by 2050. Karen joined the cross-party climate emergency steering group and we are very grateful that a number of residents from Clewer East also contributed their time to the stakeholder consultation. At the Full Council meeting on 23rd June we will be debating the results of this work - the RBWM Climate Emergency Strategy. Advice from expert stakeholders was that the last draft we saw still needed work to meet the target date for achieving net zero carbon, so we are keen to see the final draft. We will keep you posted!

Aldi

The budget supermarket, Aldi has submitted a planning application to build a store on the site of the former Wyvale garden centre at Oakley Green. You can view plans (20/01145/FULL) here and submit your comments.

Gardens in Bloom

After making enquiries with the council and being told there would be no Gardens in Bloom competition, we decided to launch our own. This has now been picked up by RBWM, which means you have more than one way to celebrate your lovely gardens! Enter our competition here, the RBWM competition here or simply share your photos on Twitter using the hashtag #RBWMLOCKDOWNGARDENS or #RBWMGIB.

COVID Community

Thank you to all the volunteers across Clewer East who have stepped up to help the community during the outbreak. There are several Foodshare doorstep collections across the ward; we have seen new Neighbourhood watch groups spring up; we've waved to our neighbours as we've clapped for keyworkers and there has been a renewed sense of community, which we're eager to continue as life gets back towards normal. Perhaps you'd like to celebrate a socially distanced 'The Great Get Together' this month.

What a Year!

At the beginning of May, we marked the one-year anniversary of becoming your councillors. It's fair to say the year didn't turn out exactly as we expected - just as we were finding our feet, we learnt about the big hole in the council's finances, and discovered we wouldn't be able to do all those things we had hoped. We have still made progress both in Clewer East and as a Lib Dem group, however, and despite the many challenges presented by the financial situation and the COVID crisis, we are still delighted to be your representatives. Thank you so much!

Cllr. Amy Tisi Cllr. Karen Davies

(amy@windsorlibdems.org.uk) (karen@windsorlibdems.org.uk)