Please share with friends, family and neighbours in the borough so they can keep up to date. Sign up here if you've received a forwarded copy.
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Support for those affected by River Thames flooding
Residents and businesses affected by flooding from Storm Henk in January can now apply for support.
These schemes are set by government and cover Recovery Grants, Council Tax Exemptions and Business Rate Reliefs.
- Flooded households in eligible areas can apply for up to £500 to cover immediate costs related to the flooding impacts of their property
- Households and businesses significantly affected could be eligible for and can apply for 100% Council Tax or Business Rate relief for at least three months
- Small to medium sized businesses in eligible areas can apply for up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant to help them return quickly to business as usual
- Eligible properties who have been impacted by flooding can apply for up to £5,000 to help them make their homes and businesses more resilient to flooding incidents in the future through the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant.
Visit our website for eligibility and to apply.
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Sustainability campaign highlights our walking and cycling improvements and facilities
Our new communications campaign, Supporting a Sustainable Borough, started this week and is running for the whole of April, incorporating Earth Day on 22 April.
This week we've been highlighting where you can discover on foot, or on two wheels, our green spaces using the Jubilee River Cycleway, Thames Valley Cycleway and Maidenhead’s Missing Links Cycleway. We also gave you updates on the new secure parking hub next to Windsor Leisure Centre, and how in King Street in Maidenhead we’re making it easier for you to walk or cycle.
We finished the week with a call for volunteer stewards for the borough’s first School Street in St Adrians Close in Maidenhead, so more children can walk or cycle and also improve air quality. To find out more email schoolstreets@rbwm.gov.uk.
Next week, the campaign focuses on some of our own strategies and actions. As a council, one of our key priorities is to take action to tackle climate change and its consequences and improve our natural environment. Achieving a sustainable future is a collective community effort – we all have a part to play in tackling climate change and its consequences.
Stay tuned to this e-newsletter and our Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) channels for more information, tips and how you can get involved.
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Survey reminder: Live or work in Ascot?
There’s still time to share your views in our survey to help shape Ascot’s rejuvenation, including sharing your views on options for improving the High Street.
We’re working with residents, community groups, businesses and other partners to produce a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that will guide future development in the area, complementing the vision set in the Borough Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan.
In recent weeks, we’ve been holding workshops and drop-in events to help ensure future development in Ascot is shaped by the community’s priorities and aspirations, delivering a strong vision for Ascot's future. If you couldn’t make these events, you can still get involved and share your thoughts in this survey until Friday 12 April.
Find out more about the project here.
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Reminder: Have your say on proposals to open more local facilities for children with special educational needs
There's still time for parents, young people, community groups and others to comment on plans to open further facilities for pupils with special educational needs, which will allow even more children with special educational needs to attend a local school.
We're consulting on four proposed projects to enhance provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), using £1.4m from the Department for Education.
Many local children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are currently educated outside the borough. Expanding the local supported education offer will allow more of them to benefit from attending a school or college closer to home, if they choose.
The public consultation runs until midday on Friday 26 April. Read more about the proposed projects in our press release. For further details and to take part, please visit our website.
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Join the Maidenhead Town Team monthly volunteering session
Join the Maidenhead Town Team every third Saturday of the month, starting on Saturday 20 April, to help with litter picking, weeding and graffiti removal.
The team will meet from 8.45am to 11am and focus on Maidenhead town centre and surrounding parks and areas. Kit will be provided.
The team will also be carrying out replanting around Maidenhead on Thursday 11 April and Saturday 13 April.
If you wish to find out more or sign up to volunteer, or would like to help out at the two planting days next week, email maidenhead.tm@rbwm.gov.uk. Sign up to the Town Team newsletter here and join the Facebook group.
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Lighten your stress load - Stress Awareness Month
Stress has a negative effect on our mental and physical wellbeing. As April is national Stress Awareness Month, here are some tips to help you.
Remember, little changes can lower your stress levels.
- Connect with someone – are they okay? Are you okay?
- Prioritise sleep – one of the best tonics for your wellbeing.
- Move in your own way – it doesn’t have to be the gym. Dancing in your kitchen counts.
- Spend time in nature – just half an hour a day in a green space does wonders.
- Practice Mindfulness – or gratitude, or any healthy activity that quietens your mind.
For more tips, visit the Stress Management Society or NHS Every Mind Matters.
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Royal Borough Community Spotlight
Here are just some of the upcoming community events and volunteering opportunities in the Royal Borough:
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St Michael's Church, Bray recital (Sunday 7 April, 3pm) - Vicarage Drive, Bray, Maidenhead SL6 2AB. St Michael’s church choir and friends present “In Springtime”, an afternoon featuring a programme of music in celebration of spring. Admission free with a retiring collection. Tea and cakes served in the church hall afterwards. For more information, visit the website.
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Learn to run with Maidenhead Running Sisters. Ten-week beginner course for women starts Monday 8 April at 6pm. For more details or to book use the contact form. Visit the website.
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The Maidenhead Women’s Group for European Friendship lecture (Wednesday 10 April, 10.30am) - United Reform Church in Maidenhead. The speaker will be Aldon Ferguson who will talk about “RAF Medmenham - now Danesfield House - and the women that worked there during WW2”. Guests’ entry £5, including refreshments. For more information, visit the website.
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Age Concern Windsor Seniors Sunday Lunch (starting on Sunday 14 April, 11am to 2.30pm, and then the second Sunday of each month). Join for a sumptuous three-course roast dinner and plenty of time to chat and socialise while enjoying your meal. There is transport available for those living in Windsor - both the meals and the transport need to be booked in advance and transport is booked on a first come, first served basis. For further information, visit the website. To book, please call 01753 860685 Tuesday to Friday 9.30am to 3.30pm or email info@ageconcernwindsor.org.uk
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Supporting carers in Sunningdale (starts Thursday 18 April and then third Thursday of each month, 11am to 12.30pm) - Sunningdale Parish Council, The Pavilion, Broomhall Lane, Sunningdale SL5 0QS. Are you a carer? You're welcome to join a new monthly group for carers across the south of the borough. Join for a coffee and a chat. For more information, call Steve Sansom on 07585 793069.
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International celebrity pianist returns to Old Windsor Parish Church (Sunday 28 April, 3pm) - Old Windsor Parish Church, Church Rd SL4 2JW. David Goode has toured extensively abroad as well as performing regularly at the Proms and the Royal Festival Hall with his piano recitals. The programme will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt. Refreshments will be available and there is plenty of parking. Donations welcome on the day.
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GoodGym are currently looking for volunteers to visit isolated older residents in the borough. Befriending is where GoodGym first started. Its founder, Ivo Gormley, started running to deliver the newspaper to Terry, an older Hackney resident in 2007. Terry was housebound and didn’t see any friends on a regular basis. Ivo wasn’t exercising much but found that he was motivated to go out for his run because he knew Terry was waiting for him. For more information, visit the website.
If you have an upcoming not-for-profit community event or appeal for volunteers you’d like to promote in this newsletter, simply send basic information about your event to communications@rbwm.gov.uk and it could be shared with more than 21,000 local residents.
You just need to include a brief description, when and where it takes place, and a link to a website/social media page/contact where people can find out more.
To see further volunteering opportunities in the borough, or for another way for community organisations to promote volunteering opportunities, please visit RBWM Together.
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Our consultations - have your say
We regularly hold consultations and surveys to get your views on proposals within the Royal Borough.
Participating, sharing ideas, and giving your feedback is the best way to ensure your views are heard.
Our current consultations are:
Partner consultation:
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Local Travel Updates
Rail - engineering works
Planned engineering works are taking place on the South Western Railway network this weekend, Saturday 6 April and Sunday 7 April. The lines in the Staines area will be closed all weekend due to maintenance work. On both days, London Waterloo to Windsor services will be diverted after Twickenham and will terminate at Hounslow. Buses will run between Hounslow and Windsor via Staines. More information on the SWR website.
Rail - industrial action
Industrial action announced by the ASLEF union will mean strike action affecting the SWR network on Monday 8 April and the GWR network on Saturday 6 April. Action short of a strike is also taking place until Saturday 6 April and from Monday 8 April to Tuesday 9 April. For updates, check the SWR website and GWR website.
Council highways works:
For details of further council works on highways, visit our website. For full local roadwork details, including work by utility firms, please visit the One Network website
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Keep in touch
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