Maidenhead & Windsor

The Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough is this week celebrating a lottery grant of more than £200,000 to improve play provision across the borough.

The Windsor and Maidenhead grant from the Big Lottery Fund announced this week follows the submission of the borough's first play strategy designed to enable young people in the borough to enjoy better facilities for constructive play.

The £233,324 grant will help to fund three projects across the borough:

· Leading the play way – providing a mobile play ranger service to enable children and young people in parishes and parks to benefit from free play opportunities. A Windsor and Maidenhead play ranger co-ordinator and sessional play rangers are expected to be appointed before the summer holidays and will be funded for a period of two years. They will be closely involved in the popular 13-19 summer holiday programme as well as working with the Get Active team in parishes and with the rangers at Braywick Nature Centre to broaden the range of activities and constructive play opportunities.

· School free play – to develop play before and after school and during lunch-times by providing training and equipment to educate staff and children on a variety of activities for playtimes and lunch-hours. The 50 schools in the borough taking part will also open their playgrounds at weekends to allow local children and young people to use the new play equipment.

· Parish free play – helping parishes to develop two new play areas in Old Windsor and Eton Wick to improve hard play facilities and provide new equipment.

Cllr Eileen Quick, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead children's services, said: "I am absolutely delighted with the news of the lottery grant. Some of the funding will be used to employ the play ranger co-ordinator and sessional play rangers whose main task will be to promote the importance of play and to ensure we can deliver the aims of our play strategy.

"They will be invaluable in helping to broaden out safe and constructive play opportunities to a wider young audience across the borough, and will hopefully reach out to some of the more disadvantaged children and young people in the borough."

Cllr Jesse Grey, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead leisure and culture, said: "This funding will make a huge difference to the parish councils – some of whom have wanted to improve their play facilities for some time.

"Our first play strategy had to be approved by the Big Lottery Fund before we could apply for the funding, and we are now in a position to be able to fulfil the vision of the strategy and deliver facilities and opportunities in places where they are most needed.

"The strategy also fits into the Every Child Matters initiative and its action plan is the first step to expanding on play provision in the borough in plenty of time for the school summer holidays ahead."

For further information about the lottery grant contact Linda Chandler, head of community and youth services on 01628 796315.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Maidenhead Arts Cafe,
Methodist Church Hall,
High Street,
Maidenhead,
Berkshire,
SL6 1EF.
Friday 3rd October

Sometimes events need to be low-key - where all you're really trying to do is create a warm, comfortable atmosphere in which friends feel welcome and at home. Background jazz is ideal for this scenario - nothing can beat the sound of a professional live band.

The Still Time band have played in this context for a variety of events. Alpha Meals, Fellowship Evenings, Wedding Receptions, etc., all can be enhanced by live music. Still Time Music is dedicated to providing Jazz music with an uncompromising Christian message and spirit.

The cafe provides high quality entertainment in relaxed, informal surroundings. Events take place in the recently refurbished hall of the Methodist Church at the top of the High Street in Maidenhead. Drinks (Tea, Coffee, Cappuccino, J2O's, Coke etc) are available from our bar, along with various light snacks throughout the evening.

Entrance is by ticket (£5:00 available on the door, or in advance). Contact us on info@artscafe.org for details or tickets.

Maidenhead Arts Cafe

Maidenhead Arts Cafe,
Methodist Church Hall,
High Street,
Maidenhead,
Berkshire,
SL6 1EF.
Friday 6th June

Over the last few years Dave has presented his unique "Live and Acoustic" evenings at the Jermyn Street Theatre, in the heart of London's Theatreland. Designed to crossover and connect with an unchurched audience Dave mixes mainstream influences with his own original material.

He is also famous for many of his christian songs sung across the world (Abba Father Being his first), many included in such compalations as "Songs of Felo

Now Dave brings "Live & Acoustic" to the Arts Cafe. Here is an opportunity to see the singer-songwriter side of Dave with an acoustic set that draws from his extensive catalogue of songs as well as mainstream material that has influenced him down through the years. Dave will also be sharing some new songs from his brand new CD release "People of Promise".

The cafe provides high quality entertainment in relaxed, informal surroundings. Events take place in the recently refurbished hall of the Methodist Church at the top of the High Street in Maidenhead. Drinks (Tea, Coffee, Cappuccino, J2O's, Coke etc) are available from our bar, along with various light snacks throughout the evening.

Entrance is by ticket (£5:00 available on the door, or in advance). Contact us on info@artscafe.org for details or tickets.

Maidenhead Arts Cafe

Sports Bug fever is set to sweep the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough with two action-packed weeks of Free activities for all ages and abilities, from Saturday May 10 to Friday May 23.

More than 40 clubs are throwing open their doors and inviting Windsor and Maidenhead residents to try a whole range of activities from rowing and tennis to martial arts and jive dancing.

Cllr Jesse Grey, lead member for leisure and culture, said: "As a council we are keen to promote good health. Sports Bug fortnight, with its excellent range of free activities throughout the borough, is the perfect opportunity for residents to try their hand at a new sport, brush up on old skills or simply get fitter."

The fortnight kicks off on Saturday May 10 from 10am to 2pm with open days at the Magnet, Windsor and Charters leisure centres and Woodlands Park Village Centre, packed with fun activities for all the family:

· Magnet Leisure Centre, Holmanleaze, Maidenhead: Parachuting, basketball shootouts, arts and crafts, crazy golf, face painting, BodyZone mini-fitness challenge, trampoline taster sessions, beat the goalie competition, bouncy castle and soft play, board painting, roller skating, action kids (For further details call Lee Ovens on 01628 633899)

· Windsor Leisure Centre, Clewer Mead, Windsor: Penalty shootouts, bouncy castle, aerobics, basketball shooting competition, trampoline taster sessions, BodyZone fitness challenge, plus free treatment and injury advice (Claire Yeoman, 01753 850004)

· Charters Leisure Centre, Charters Road, Sunningdale: Racketathon, netball tournaments, BodyZone triathlon, cricket, bouncy castle, karate, tennis, pool tournament (Daniel Saunders, 01344 628686)

· Woodlands Park Village Centre, Manifold Way, White Waltham: treasure hunt, bouncy castle, face painting, multi-sports activities, refreshments, arts and crafts (Kim Truelove, 07765 254895).

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

A special meeting of Maidenhead development control (DC) panel is to be held on Thursday June 5 to consider the Royal Borough's planning application for a new Holyport Manor Special School on the Cox Green School campus.

On the same evening panel members will also consider Windsor and Maidenhead council's outline application for community sports and leisure facilities adjacent to the existing school sports hall and community centre, with access from Highfield Lane towards the north-east of the site.

The proposed new school – to replace the existing inadequate premises at Holyport – is being totally funded by a government grant of £24.4 million through the Building Schools for the Future: One School Pathfinder initiative. The planning application is for a single-storey school and two-storey, 24-bed respite centre with two all-weather sports pitches and associated parking, fencing, gates and landscaping. There would be a new access off Cannon Lane.

Following consultation with local residents, community groups and site users, the Windsor and Maidenhead council has also submitted the outline application for a purpose-built sports and leisure facility close to the existing Cox Green community complex to provide a fitness gym, aerobics studio, four team-size changing rooms for users of the outdoor pitches and changing rooms for indoor sports.

Reports for panel members' consideration will be published in advance of the DC meeting and will be available on the council's website www.rbwm.gov.uk

To cater for the expected large attendance, the meeting will be held in the Desborough Suite of the Town Hall, starting at 7pm (doors open 6.30pm).

Cllr Derek Wilson, panel chairman and lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead planning, said: "The proposals to build a new special school and the associated community leisure facilities have prompted a high level of public debate. I am very aware that the DC panel will be a focus of great local interest and I will work to ensure that the meeting provides ample opportunity for both the applicant and the objectors to put forward their views."

Anyone wishing to speak at the meeting will need to register their intention with the council in advance and details will be published closer to the date. Normally the applicant and objectors are each allocated three minutes to make their submissions – however, given the significance of this application, the chairman has decided to extend the time allowed to both sides.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Abandoned shopping trolleys in the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough are set to be given the push-off if a proposal to allow the council to collect and charge is given the go-ahead.

Under the Windsor and Maidenhead shopping trolley initiative, the council would pick up trolleys dumped in areas such as streets, car parks, streams and public and private land. A charge would be made to the owners for the trolley removal, storage and return to the store.

The proposal was discussed at the planning and environment overview and scrutiny panel meeting on Monday (April 28) and a decision will be made at cabinet on Thursday May 22.

At present abandoned trolleys are often left uncollected for days or even weeks. The council's streetcare services regularly notify owners – usually supermarkets – of the whereabouts of abandoned trolleys and on occasions collect them and return them.

Cllr Colin Rayner, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead highways, transport and environment, said: "Abandoned trolleys are a blight on the local environment and can be hazardous to road users, so we need to introduce measures to control them. We want to work in partnership with owners so we can prevent trolleys being abandoned in the first place, and to remove them from the street as quickly as possible when they are abandoned. We want to clean up the Royal Borough and this is one of many areas that we are targeting.

"Some trolley owners are already trying to control the situation by installing wheel-locking devices or coin deposit systems but, despite these measures, abandoned trolleys are still a significant problem in our borough and it is unfair on the council taxpayer to pick up the bill for collecting them."

The new initiative would enable the Windsor and Maidenhead council to remove and store an abandoned trolley and charge the owner a fee. If the trolley is not claimed by the owner within six weeks of being notified, the council can dispose of it.

If approved at cabinet, the scheme will be advertised in the local press and subsequently implemented after three months.

The proposed initiative has received support from the Maidenhead Town Forum, the Windsor Town Forum, the Windsor and Eton Town Partnership and the Maidenhead Town Partnership. All the retailers likely to be affected by the scheme have been consulted.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

The owner of a Maidenhead taxi company has been fined £1,000 – reduced to £750 following his guilty plea – after one of his drivers was stopped while driving without a licence and driver's badge.

Asif Iqbal, the proprieter of Golden Executive Cars, a licensed private hire company of Zaman House, 1 Church Road, Maidenhead, pleaded guilty by post at Maidenhead magistrates court on Friday (April 25) to operating a private hire vehicle in a controlled district when the driver did not have a current private hire driver's licence, contrary to section 46(2) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

The court heard how the driver's car was approached in Westborough Road, Maidenhead, just after 9pm on Saturday September 1 2007.

The driver was unable to produce his private hire driver's badge to indicate that he was licensed by the council, and subsequently confirmed that his licence and badge had expired. Further investigations by licensing officers revealed that his licence had expired a year earlier, in September 2006.

At the time, the vehicle and the operator were both licensed. However Asif Iqbal utilised the services of an unlicensed driver which led to the council's prosecution.

Cllr Jesse Grey, chairman of the Windsor and Maidenhead licensing panel, said: "This is a very serious offence. The maximum fine of £1,000 was only reduced because the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.

"It is vital that members of the public who use our taxis feel safe and confident that the vehicles they travel in are operating legally. The council's licensing officers work tirelessly to ensure that all taxi and private hire drivers are properly licensed – and cases such as this only serve to undermine the strict checking procedures we carry out to ensure that taxis and private vehicles comply with our strict licensing regime.

"This should be a warning to other operators that we will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who jeopardises the safety of our residents."

Asif Iqbal was also ordered to pay costs of £275.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Windsor and Maidenhead Residents who want to add power to their flowers this summer by home composting kitchen and garden waste will have the chance to win £50 of garden centre vouchers, thanks to the Royal Borough's Golden Bin competition.

Anyone who orders one of the Windsor and Maidenhead council's FREE composters during Compost Awareness Week (May 4 – 10) will be entered into a prize draw and the winner will take away a fistful of vouchers donated by DHL, the company that delivers the bins.

Also worth watching out for are two council compost awareness stalls to be staged by the council at Windsor Farmers' Market on Saturday May 3 and Maidenhead Farmers' Market on Sunday May 11.

Ankit Rao, Windsor and Maidenhead waste awareness officer, will talk to shoppers about how simple composting can not only slash the amount of household waste dumped in landfill but also produce great fertiliser to help make gardens grow more beautiful in the future.

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of the sustainability panel, said that Compost Awareness Week presented a tremendous opportunity for even more borough residents to get involved.

He said: "Home composting is a simple, cheap and effective way of dealing with up to a third of a typical family's waste bin, and it is a brilliant way to help the environment. People from every walk of life are joining in, including celebrities like Dame Helen Mirren, Jenny Seagrove, Chris Evans and June Sarpong. They are discovering that by composting at home in the right conditions, waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings can break down so no harmful methane gas is produced. This also creates a rich fertiliser for the garden which completes the natural cycle and keeps waste out of landfill."

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead strategy, said that since the Royal Borough launched its 5,000 free composters offer earlier in the spring more than 3,000 residents had taken advantage of this unbeatable opportunity to cut down on waste.

She added: "There are still free bins up for grabs and during Compost Awareness Week there is an even greater incentive to put in an order – the chance to win £50 of garden centre vouchers. So, if local residents are thinking about home composting, there's no better time to start."

Residents who would like a free composter should call 0845 077 0757 or order online at http://www.recyclenow.com/compost

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead: 11 May - 17 May 2008
Altwood Road
Maidenhead
SL6 4PF
01628 788997

11th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 1:30 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group D
* 3:00 pm
My Blueberry Nights (12A)
* 7:30 pm
My Blueberry Nights (12A)
* Workshops and other events
* 10:00 am
Lu Willis, Tonia Maddison, Brita Cernitori
* 4:00 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group E

12th May in Maidenhead

No events planned

13th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 8:00 pm
Man in the Chair (12A)
* Workshops and other events
* 4:30 pm
Bollywood Dance
* 5:45 pm
Norden Exposure Youth Dance
* 7:00 pm
Norden Exposure Academy

14th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 10:30 am
How Does Your Garden Grow?
* 4:15 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group A
* 7:30 pm
At their Majesties’ Pleasure
* Workshops and other events
* 2:00 pm
One Woman's Army of Women
* 5:30 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group B
* 6:45 pm
Norden Lights Academy

15th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 10:30 am
Make Silver Jewellery
* 8:00 pm
Daniel Kitson, The Impotent Fury of the Privileged
* Workshops and other events
* 2:00 pm
One Woman's Army of Women
* 5:00 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group C
* 6:15 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group F

16th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 8:00 pm
The King is Dancing, (Le Roi Danse) (15)
* 8:00 pm
Chris Wood
* Workshops and other events
* 11:00 am
Fun at the Farm
* 2:00 pm
One Woman's Army of Women
* 4:30 pm
Norden Lights Youth Theatre Group G
* 7:00 pm
Life Drawing

17th May in Maidenhead

* Performances
* 3:00 pm
There Will Be Blood (15)
* 7:45 pm
Spoonface Steinberg
* 8:00 pm
There Will Be Blood (15)
* Workshops and other events
* 9:30 am
Kathak Dance
* 10:00 am
Beading Workshop
* 10:30 am
Kathak Dance
* 11:30 am
Kathak Dance
* 2:00 pm
One Woman's Army of Women
* 2:30 pm
Watercolours

An ambitious new energy-saving programme agreed by the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough not only aims to cut the council's carbon footprint by 25% over the next five years but is also likely to bring good news for council taxpayers with savings of around £1 million*.

A detailed action plan, agreed by Windsor and Maidenhead cabinet on Thursday April 24, sets out 33 projects that will enable the borough to take a local lead in tackling climate change.

The projects include no and low-cost initiatives such as installing timer switches on vending machines and occupancy sensors on lighting, to longer-term plans for renewable energy systems like solar water heating and ground source heat pumps.

The programme and implementation plan has been drawn up in partnership with the Carbon Management Trust – the government funded organisation that helps businesses cut carbon emissions – and it means the council will be able to apply for grant funding to help finance a number of its projects.

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for strategy who presented the report to cabinet, said it demonstrated the council's dedication to reducing carbon emissions.

She said: "There is no bigger challenge to all of us these days, and as a community leader the council is determined to set a good example. We must ensure our own house is in order if we are to encourage our residents to cut carbon emissions in their homes.

"This is an ambitious and exciting programme that will not only be good for the environment but will result in significant financial savings, which is very good news for local taxpayers as the council continues to work hard to maintain low council tax increases in future years."

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of the Windsor and Maidenhead sustainability panel, said: "The council is already working to reduce carbon emissions but we want to improve energy efficiency even further throughout the entire organisation – in our buildings, vehicles, street lighting and waste collections. We have started a campaign across all services to raise staff awareness about the importance of switching off lights, PCs and other equipment when not in use and we are already seeing the seeds of change beginning to blossom.

"I am confident this programme will bring about improvements to be proud of and be an inspiration to others in our community to follow suit."

*The gross predicted savings are set to be £3.25 million as a result of council investment of £2.2 million. However, if the Royal Borough did nothing to reduce its carbon emissions over the five year period the cost to the council would be more than £5 million – so by making the investment the council should turn a £5 million 'loss' into a £1 million saving.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead