Maidenhead & Windsor

People living and working in Maidenhead are to be given the opportunity to put forward their views on an important new discussion document about how the town centre can change and develop for the better in the next 20 years.

Maidenhead Town Centre: Towards 2026 – to be launched on Monday January 15 – 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 as well as 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). 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.

Cllr Vicky Howes, lead member for planning, said: "There has been lively discussion about how we can bring about changes to Maidenhead town centre, and the council is addressing the issues through the new LDF.

"However, the lengthy timescale involved in this process could be seen as a barrier to getting things done as fast as we would like, so in the meantime we are taking the opportunity to produce this comprehensive discussion paper featuring ideas and suggestions from across our community."

Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for Maidenhead, said the key to the plan's success lay in partnership – between the council, stakeholder and partner organisations and local people who work and shop in the town.

He added: "Over the past year there have been various debates and discussions about the future of Maidenhead town centre. Now we have an exciting opportunity for the council, in partnership with other organisations like the chamber of commerce and the civic society, to bring all the respective strands together into one plan that will take our town forward in a constructive and positive way."

Towards 2026 focuses on several key areas for discussion, including opportunities for more shops and improvements to important public spaces in the town centre.

Full details of the new discussion document and the public consultation will be issued next week.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead