Maidenhead & Windsor

Windsor and Maidenhead Residents living around or near Badnell's Pit in Maidenhead are being urged to work with the Royal Borough to make sure that the expected decontamination and remediation of the site takes place safely and with the least possible disturbance.

Although the Michael Shanly Group has not yet announced if the scheme will definitely go ahead, the Windsor and Maidenhead council is forging ahead with preparation work. And now it wants to hear from local people interested in representing their neighbours and other residents on the monitoring group that will keep a watch on this highly sensitive work.

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead planning and development, said: "It is absolutely essential that we make the best use of time while we await the Shanly announcement. Council officers from a wide range of specialisms have been meeting regularly to co-ordinate the preparations needed for such a complex scheme.

"We are fortunate to have council experts on key issues such as town planning, noise, dust, vibration, decontamination, emergency planning and highway engineering - but we also need residents to get involved in the new monitoring group so that they can not only represent local views but report back to their neighbours and communities about what is happening on the site."

The monitoring group will work with the Windsor and Maidenhead council to:

• help appoint an independent de-contamination consultant to monitor the ongoing results of decontamination tests undertaken by the developer
• monitor and review the results of the developer's test results
• keep the local community informed
• help ensure that disturbance is minimised during the development.

Windsor and Maidenhead Cllr Knight added: "We are very grateful to the many people who were part of the original monitoring group set up when the decontamination was first proposed. Now we need to make sure that the views of newer residents are also represented and that those involved previously still have the time to commit to what will be a highly important community role."

Anyone interested in being involved and representing their neighbours and other residents on the group is asked to contact the Windsor and Maidenhead council at badnells@rbwm.gov.uk or at the Town Hall, St Ives Road, giving their name, address and contact phone number. They are also asked to set out (in no more than 50 words) what they feel they can contribute to the group so that if there are many volunteers this information can be used to help residents select a representative group.

As part of its planning permission the Michael Shanly Group must hold a meeting with residents at least four months in advance of the work getting started. Any announcement will come through the council, which will ensure that information is distributed with the help of monitoring group members.

The Windsor and Maidenhead council is committed to a free flow of information both before and throughout the scheme and the first of a series of newsletters was distributed to residents last week.

Residents who want to receive all council updates on the decontamination scheme should send their details to badnells@rbwm.gov.uk. The council will also have special web pages and a telephone information line to ensure information is readily available to local people.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead