Maidenhead & Windsor

People living and working in Maidenhead are being given the opportunity to put forward their views on a new discussion document that sets out how the town centre can change and develop for the better in the next 20 years.

Maidenhead Town Centre: Towards 2026 brings together the Royal Borough's ideas for the town centre along with those of local organisations, such as Maidenhead Civic Society and Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce and those expressed through The Great Debate run by the Maidenhead Advertiser last year.

Revitalising Maidenhead came out as a top priority in last year's public consultation on the new Local Development Framework (LDF) consultation. Other areas of the borough, including Windsor, and Ascot and rural areas (the latter via their parish councils) will have the opportunity of taking part in future consultations, geared to the specific needs of their particular communities.

The Maidenhead discussion document and questionnaire, which will be circulated to more than 20,000 people through the Maidenhead Advertiser on Thursday January 18, focuses on key areas for debate:

* three possible areas for more shops at West Street, Broadway and the east end of High Street, linking to today's main shopping area
* two places pivotal to the daily life and image of the town centre – improving the station area with more parking and a better transport interchange, and upgrading the approaches to Maidenhead Bridge to create a tree-lined boulevard and potential for a new hotel or houses
* opportunities around York Road and St Ives Road to enable these central areas to be used more effectively, with car parking, new homes and offices and more public spaces, linking to the Green Way.

Cllr Vicky Howes, lead member for planning, said: "This is a significant document that, once views from local people have been taken into account in the current consultation, will feed into the LDF. It will help to provide the basis for an area action plan, incorporating the vision for the town centre of the future which reflects the broad consensus of opinion within our community."

Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for Maidenhead, once again stressed that the key to the plan's success lay in partnership – between the council, stakeholder and partner organisations and local people.

He explained: "None of us can succeed in making our good town even better if we work in isolation. Partnership holds the key to bringing about the changes Maidenhead needs and I hope this new opportunity for discussion – based on ideas and suggestions from across our community – will give us a consensus for the future."

The six-week consultation invites local people to return a questionnaire or send in written responses by the closing date of Monday February 26. As well as being distributed through the Maidenhead Advertiser, copies of the leaflet and questionnaire will be available in council offices and libraries. There is also the opportunity to fill in the questionnaire on-line at www.rbwm.gov.uk (follow the link from the home page).

Following a discussion workshop for councillors and key partner and stakeholder organisations in the Town Hall on Monday January 15, there will be a public drop-in session between 11am and 2pm in the reception area of the Town Hall on Saturday January 27, which will give local people the opportunity to discuss the ideas further.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead