By-Elections and Referendums 2025

You vote by putting a cross (X) in the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ box on your ballot paper. Put a cross in only one box or your vote will not be counted.

The proposed Neighbourhood Plan needs to gain the approval of the majority of voters (more than 50%) in the local community for the Local Planning Authority to ‘make’ the neighbourhood plan. If more than 50% of people vote ‘yes’ in this Referendum, then RBWM Council will use the Neighbourhood Plan to help it decide planning applications in the Cookham Neighbourhood Area.

Neighbourhood planning aims to help local communities play a direct role in planning the areas in which they live and work.

A local community can prepare a neighbourhood plan. This plan provides an opportunity for local communities to shape future development in their local area.

A neighbourhood area can cover single streets or large urban or rural areas. The boundaries of a neighbourhood area are put forward by a parish or town council or a neighbourhood forum (a group of at least 21 people in areas without parish councils).

For the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan, the boundary of the neighbourhood area was determined by RBWM Council and is identical to the parish area of Cookham, this can be seen in the Information statement. 

Neighbourhood plans are prepared by town or parish councils, or neighbourhood forums. In this case, the Cookham Neighbourhood Plan was prepared by Cookham Neighbourhood Plan Working Group. 

In England, planning applications are determined by local planning authorities in accordance with the Development Plan. A Development Plan is a set of documents that set out the policies for the development and use of land across the entire local authority area. 

Within Windsor and Maidenhead, the local planning authority is RBWM Council. RBWM Council is the lead authority for neighbourhood planning matters, including for carrying out Neighbourhood Planning Referendums.

You can vote in the Referendum if you receive a poll card; and

• You are registered to vote in local council elections, or you register to vote by midnight on Tuesday 1 July 2025. You can check if you are registered to vote by calling 01628 683868 or emailing electoral.registration@rbwm.gov.uk.
• You are 18 years of age or over on Thursday 17 July 2025.

When voting in person, you will require a valid form of ID. To see which types of ID are valid or to get an ID for this Referendum visit: GOV.UK website. 

In person on Thursday 17 July 2025:

Most people vote in person at their local polling station. It is easy and a member of staff will always be happy to help if you are not sure what to do.

You will receive a polling card telling you where your polling station is, but you do not need a poll card to vote.

You will need ID to vote, further details on accepted forms of ID can be found on the GOV.UK website. If you do not have any of the accepted ID, you can also apply for a Voter Authority Certificate using this same link above. 

The Polling Stations will be open from 7am to 10pm and are located at:

• Pinder Hall, Lower Road, Cookham SL6 9EH.
• Cookham Dean Village Hall, Church Road, Cookham SL6 9PD.
• Holy Trinity Parish Centre, Churchgate, Cookham SL6 9SP.

To vote by post, you will need to complete and return an application form. You can also apply to vote online at on the GOV.UK website. 

Completed applications for this election must arrive by 5 pm on Wednesday 2 July 2025.

You should receive your postal vote about a week before polling day. If you have not received it in time, you can get a replacement up to 5pm on polling day.

If you cannot go to the polling station and do not wish to vote by post, you may be able to vote by proxy. This means allowing somebody you trust to vote on your behalf.

To vote by proxy you will need to complete and return an application form. You can also apply online on the GOV.UK website.

Completed applications for this election must arrive by 5 pm on Wednesday 9 July 2025.

When you apply for a proxy vote you must say why you cannot vote in person.

Anyone can be your proxy as long as they are on the Electoral Register, eligible to vote at local elections and are willing to vote on your behalf. You do need to tell them how you want to vote.

If you cannot access the Council’s website, application forms are available via our election helpline by calling 01628 683868.