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2004 |
8th January 2004Windsor has a Web Forum awaiting your commentsVisit the Windsor Forum |
The Royal Windsor Web Site is pleased to announce the opening of the Windsor Forum. This is an exciting development designed to let everyone with something to say, to say it there and then. We hope that the Forum will become a valuable resource for residents of Windsor and visitors alike. Currently there are three sections, Windsor Now, The Thames at Windsor and Windsor History. Other sections will be added as and when appropriate. Windsor Now is designed to cover all current and recent events, campaigns, news and views. The Thames at Windsor currently features contributions concerning the Jubilee River and problems associated with it but will also cover fishing and boating topics, etc. Windsor History covers the town as it was from just a few years ago to its foundation almost 1000 years ago. This is a massive subject and will never be covered comprehensively, but every contribution that adds to what we know about our town is valuable. Here is the perfect place to record any stories that you know about Windsor's past Please feel free to comment on our town or ask any questions. We hope we will be able to answer it quickly, or find someone who knows the answer! |
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28th January 2004Snow, thunder and Lightning |
Snow in Windsor is now a rarity. For over twenty years we have been spared a really heavy snowfall and the snow that fell on 28th January at 5.30pm did not last, tho' it excited the children. For snow to be accompanied by thunder is very rare indeed. The reason is the VERY disturbed and exceptionally cold air some 5 miles up which generates the static charges. Snow had been forecast in the early hours too and indeed there was a brief fall at around 4.30am, but it did not settle.  48 hours later all the snow had gone and once again wind and rain were forecast for the weekend! |
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30th January 2004Dene House Finally Demolished |
For some months the Sword of Demolition has hung over Dene House in Bolton Avenue, but finally the house has gone.
Slowly but surely, Windsor's Victorian heritage is being whittled away. I suppose we can be reasonably sure that no such vandalism will be visited upon the Victorian terraces and villas that grew up around Windsor as the town prospered in Victorian times, but we need to be vigilant. |
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May 2004 |
A Grotesque MastIt just seems to have popped up from nowhere
overnight! |
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June 2004 |
More Aerials on Police Station roofOn the morning of Wednesday 9th June 2004, a Commhoist crane, perhaps with a lift of some 200 feet (60 metres), began lifting sections of a new communications mast onto the roof of the Police Station in Alma Road. The installation required the partial closure of Alma Road, with traffic lights controlling vehicles from north and south along Alma Road plus the junction with St Marks Road. The communications mast was the subject of a Planning Application although no record of that can now be found on the RBWM Planning Applications website. The installation continued on Thursday, 10th June. |
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July 2004 |
Registration started at 9am and closed at 12 noon. Entrance was at the car park control point and entry was free but donations were welcomed. Children under 16 had to be accompanied by an adult. The first 50 walkers to register received a free 'T' shirt! The NSPCC wishes to thank the Crown Estates Commissioners for permission to use Windsor Great Park, Magal Engineering Ltd for their sponsorship of the event and Berkshire Army Cadet Force for their help and support. For more information either call the NSPCC Appeals Office on 01908 568336 or email sphipps[at]nspcc.org.uk (please replace [at] with usual character - spam resist measure!) |
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July 2004EBC Engineering Block demolishedDemolition of the Engineering Block at EBC commenced on 15th July 2004. The tree in the centre will be preserved when houses are built on this site, is believed to be a Mexican Bean Tree.
with other pictures |
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August 2004Clarence Road Resurfacing |
Following extensive single line working in Clarence Road in July while gas mains were renewed, Clarence Road was then the subject of resurfacing and was completely closed east of Alma Road.  |
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October 2004Mobile Mast Mix-up |
After the debacle of the
Clewer Hill Road mast, we now find that a 'mix-up' has allowed
T-mobile to build another aerial eyesore! It is a Third Generation
(3G) mast designed to handle the video and pictures that modern
phones can transmit and receive. |
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November 2004 |
After 62 years, The Royal Windsor Horse
Show, with the support of The Queen, has announced a move from
its original public location into the Private Grounds of Windsor
Castle. In previous years the show has shared its grounds with
various sports users in the public area of the Home Park. The
move, across the road, means that the show will have a dedicated
site.
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November 2004 |
Today, Tuesday 9th November the new mast has been erected in Maidenhead Road by Sutherland Grange. It is a dirty sort of brown colour... Can't pretend it's a tree... |
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November 2004The Funeral
of
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The private funeral of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester took place on 5 November at 11am in St George's Chapel, Windsor. The funeral was attended by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and the Princess's family and friends. It was not a State occasion. Mourning Flags |
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Council Strategy To Tackle Derelict Homes20 December 2004 |
RBWM Press Release Derelict and sometimes dangerous homes could be brought back into use as a result of a new Royal Borough strategy, agreed by cabinet on Thursday December 16. These properties can be a magnet for vandals and petty criminals, a danger to children, and their gardens attract litter and other rubbish. Houses left unoccupied can fall into disrepair and affect the value and saleability of surrounding properties. In the worst cases, empty houses can devalue adjacent properties by as much as 18 percent. Currently there are about 1,350 empty homes in the borough, some because of building work, redevelopment or during the process of buying and selling. However, around 800 have been empty for more than a year and some for 10 or 20 years. A small number of these are derelict. The new strategy underlines the council's commitment to bringing empty homes back into productive use, working with owners and providing advice, guidance and encouragement. However, where properties have deteriorated to the point of being dangerous, or are detrimental to the amenity of the area, and efforts to encourage the owner to bring the property back into use have failed, the strategy says the council will be prepared to use enforcement action. In the case of derelict properties, owners will receive formal notices requiring them to return their property to a reasonable condition. If they cannot be traced or fail to carry out the work, the council will have the option of carrying out the repairs, with the cost registered against the property and the money claimed back when the owner is traced or the property sold. In extreme circumstances, the council could enforce the sale of the property. Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for public protection, said: "We appreciate there will always be a number of vacant homes as people move or improvements are planned. However, where they are unsightly and having a detrimental effect on the environment and local communities by, for example, being a honey pot for crime and anti social behaviour, the council must be able to step in. "Ideally, we want the owners to achieve a positive result but when that fails the council can do the work in the best interests of other residents in the neighbourhood." Cllr Pam Proctor, lead member for social services and housing, said: "Empty homes are a waste of a very valuable resource, which could be providing much-needed accommodation for residents in the borough." The strategy shows that empty dwellings:
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