** UPDATE ** (Tuesday September 27). In light of the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we have extended the public engagement period for Vision for Windsor by two weeks, meaning people can continue to complete the survey and the online engagement activities until Sunday 16 October. The two public drop-in workshop events, originally planned for earlier this month at Windsor Library, were postponed for the same reason until later in the autumn, and revised drop-in dates will be announced in the coming weeks in liaison with our project partner, the Prince’s Foundation.
The Windsor community and wider Royal Borough are invited to help shape a compelling vision for how they’d like Windsor town centre to evolve over the next 20-plus years.
The Royal Borough is working with the Prince’s Foundation charity to engage residents, community groups, businesses and others in creating a shared view of where Windsor should be heading as a high-quality, distinctive and sustainable place to live, work, spend leisure time and do business.
With the town at the centre of this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the community is being put in charge of shaping a genuinely collaborative “Vision for Windsor” that reflects Windsor’s rich diversity and heritage, strengths and opportunities, as part of a coherent, community-owned narrative for its future.
Together with suggestions from a range of local partner organisations, the community’s thoughts and ideas will help shape a visioning document that will complement existing strategic plans and guide future decisions and collective energies of the council and potentially a range of partners.
You’re invited to attend one of two interactive drop-in workshop events at Windsor Library, which the Princes Foundation will be facilitating, on Tuesday 13 September and Thursday 22 September, between 4pm and 7pm. The drop-in workshops will include an exhibition of the project so far and engagement activities to provide you with an opportunity to tell us your thoughts on the town centre. (These drop-in events were postponed until later in the autumn and revised dates will be confirmed in the coming weeks).
The interactive drop-in workshop events will be complemented by online engagement activities via the council’s Vision for Windsor page. One of the online engagement activities will include a survey. Simply visit the Vision for Windsor webpage to get involved with the online engagement activities and complete the survey, which opens from today (Monday 5 September) until the extended closing date of Sunday 16 October.
Hard copies of the survey form are also available to complete and submit at Windsor Library and Dedworth Library. Public access computers are available at all libraries, with staff available to offer digital support if needed.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, the council leader, said: “Windsor is an historic royal town, but all places always evolve, and this is an opportunity to steer that change. This is a community-led process and we want people to tell us what they do currently in Windsor town centre, its positives, negatives and future opportunities, what they like and want to keep, what they don’t like and what needs addressing or changing.
“Working with the Prince’s Foundation during the spring and summer, we have already had initial valuable conversations with various key partners, and the community’s ideas and thoughts will feed into further such conversations during September and ultimately help inform an exciting Vision for Windsor.”
Councillor Samantha Rayner, deputy council leader and cabinet member for business, corporate & residents services, culture & heritage, and Windsor, added: “This is an exciting opportunity and we encourage as many people and organisations as possible, both within Windsor and the wider borough, to get involved in shaping the Vision for Windsor, by attending the workshop events and completing the survey.
“We look forward to exploring what matters most to our community, to create a shared, positive vision for how our unique town centre should evolve, one that’s owned by the community and captures priorities and aspirations for maximising Windsor’s fabulous assets, strengths and future opportunities, while addressing the challenges.”
Aaron Davis, executive director at the Prince’s Foundation, said: “The Prince’s Foundation is honoured to be working with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead to help shape a Vision for Windsor. We want this vision to be grounded in the aspirations of residents as well as those who work or visit Windsor.
“To do this the Foundation, in partnership with the council, will be undertaking a series of stakeholder events and using digital platforms to gain a view of what local people think might help make it a more sustainable place to live, work, visit and do business. Our role will be to facilitate the process and ensure everyone has an opportunity to have their say.”