SummerSummer 20212021 YourYour freefree newspapernewspaper fromfrom SloughSlough BoroughBorough CouncilCouncil InIn thisthis issue...issue... SloughSlough 20402040 visionvision CarersCarers PartnershipPartnership CouncillorCouncillor gallerygallery You can also read this online at Photo credit: Gemma Leary Photo citizen.slough.gov.uk 2 NEWS www.slough.gov.uk Summer 2021 You can also read this online at http://citizen.slough.gov.uk/ Slough’s priorities We are not alone We have a new Five Year Plan, where our vision is growing a place Slough Borough Council doesn’t work alone. of opportunity and ambition. As one member of the Slough Wellbeing Board we team up with other local Our priority outcomes - putting people first agencies including the police, as well as • Our children and young people will have the best start in life and voluntary sector groups to provide local services to you and make Slough a better opportunities to give them positive lives. place to live, work and visit. • Our people will become healthier and will manage their own health, You can find out more about how we work care and support needs. with our partners on pages 5, 8 and 15. • Slough will be an attractive place where people choose to live, work and visit. MyCouncil: 01753 475111 • Our residents will have access to good quality homes. • Slough will attract, retain and grow businesses and investment to provide jobs and opportunities for our residents. Citizen is produced by Baylis and Stoke James Swindlehurst (Lab) Wayne Strutton (Con) Slough Borough Council Fiza A Matloob (Lab) 01753 875005 07580 361884 Observatory House, 07984 209529 [email protected] [email protected] 25 Windsor Road, Slough, SL1 2EL [email protected] Cippenham Meadows Anna S Wright (Con) For more information call Mohammed Nazir (Lab) Natasa Pantelic (Lab) 07706 445629 07958 794007 07749 710007 [email protected] Communications on 01753 875568 or [email protected] [email protected] Langley Kedermister email [email protected] Kamaljit Kaur (Lab) Dilbagh Singh Parmar (Lab) Preston Brooker (Lab) While every care is taken with submitted 07871 982996 07929 115379 07749 710099 material, no responsibility can be taken for [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] material lost or damaged. The views Britwell and Northborough Satpal S Parmar (Lab) Chandra Muvvala (Con) expressed in Citizen do not necessarily Rob Anderson (Lab) 07944 843543 07871 982796 reflect official Slough Borough Council policy. 01753 531649 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Colnbrook with Poyle Harpreet K. Cheema (Lab) Martin Carter (Lab) Avtar K Cheema (Lab) 07749 709994 07856 723037 07749 709962 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Langley St Mary’s Pavitar K Mann (Lab) Dexter J Smith (Con) Zaffar Ajaib (Lab) 07832 345887 01753 683542 / 07785 723764 07749 709921 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Central Elliman Harjinder Kaur Minhas (Lab) Safdar Ali (Lab) Arvind S Dhaliwal (Lab) 07749 710006 07904 963639 07920 485142 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Bally Gill (Lab) Iram Hussain (Lab) Sabia Akram (Lab) 07871 982968 07871 982815 01753 875005 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Upton Christine Hulme (Lab) Naveeda Qaseem (Lab) Balvinder Singh Bains (Lab) 07787 131751 07852 404038 07723 618402 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Chalvey Farnham Jina Basra (Lab) Ruqayah Begum (Lab) Maroof Mohammad (Lab) 07305 545603 07776 040677 07539 569038 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Gurdeep S Grewal (Lab) Atiq Sandhu (Lab) Joginder S Bal (Lab) 07871 983002 07931 797161 07877 475124 [email protected] Find your ward councillor 2021-2022 councillor ward your Find [email protected] [email protected] Wexham Lea Mohammed Sharif (Ind) Waqas Sabah (Lab) Haqeeq A Dar (Ind) 07984 260582 07846 391279 07800 587851 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Cippenham Green Foxborough Harjinder Gahir (Lab) Roger F Davis (Lab) Madhuri Bedi (Ind) 07599 551661 01628 542549 07395 258210 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Sandra Malik (Lab) Jemma Davis (Lab) Haymill and Lynch Hill 07816 006824 [email protected] 07871 982976 Paul Kelly (Con) [email protected] 07947 435812 [email protected] Summer 2021 www.slough.gov.uk NEWS 3 Council leader Nine James Swindlehurst thousand Welcome to the summer edition of Citizen - the first edition following the May round of local trees elections around Slough. On page 10 and 11 is the gallery of A commitment to plant thousands of SBC’s elected members, including the new trees in the town is becoming new councillors who joined this May. I reality. thank the members who retired at the The council won £500,000 funding elections for their service to residents from the Forestry Commission as part and their contribution to the council of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund. and welcome my new colleagues. The council’s 42 elected councillors are all The money is being used to plant 9,051 now back at in-person meetings and trees in 31 locations across 13 wards will be working for you during the year and to cultivate them over the next ahead. four years. Trees being planted include Council Leader, birch, oak, spruce, pine, rowan, beech, As well as administering the local Councillor James Swindlehurst and hawthorn and will be of different elections, over the last few months the ages. council has been making steady The lifting of restrictions will mean the progress in reaching our target of council can continue to deliver The main aim of the forest is to planting more than 9,000 trees across programmes and activities in the heart improve air quality, improve carbon the borough, as part of the ‘Urban of our communities - pages 17 and 20 capture, provide education and Forest‘ project, jointly funded with the provide information of what’s on in our training opportunities, and increase Forestry Commission. parks and libraries; and more detailed biodiversity. information about the ‘Chalvey Can’ As the warmer weather (hopefully) Planting has already happened in project. kicks in for the summer, the number of Godolphin Recreation Ground, residents receiving their covid I wish you all a peaceful and relaxing Farnham Lane, Scafell Park, Harvey vaccinations continues to increase and summer season. If we remain vigilant Park and Faraday Recreation Ground. restrictions are easing now that we’ve to the risks still posed by Covid in our An underused piece of land at Hawker come through the winter ‘wave’ of community, and the vaccination Hill field in Langley is also being elevated case numbers. Although programme continues apace, it should transformed as part of the project. It we’ve made good progress in vaccine a summer we can enjoy with our will become a nature haven with new coverage in Slough, it’s important for friends and family - after the 18 trees, plants, and walkways. us all to observe the rules that are in months we have endured this is The project will lead to collaborations place around social distancing and something we can all look forward to. I with community groups and residents mask-wearing as there are still adults am sure you are as ready as I am to with planting days, along with climate and young people locally yet to be enjoy the returning freedoms and change workshops and digital called for their vaccine doses. better weather! monitoring of what will be known as Urban Forest sectors. Some will be used as a leisure base for activities such as New councillors yoga and health walking while others will be used by school children as part Some new faces have joined the • Wexham - Cllr Sandra Malik (Lab) of their education syllabus. council following the election on 6 May. The councillors for Britwell and Elected onto the council were: Councillor Sabia Akram, lead member Northborough, Chalvey, Cippenham for leisure, culture and communities, • Baylis & Stoke - Cllr Kamaljit Kaur (Lab) Meadows, Elliman, Foxborough, said: “I’m delighted with the progress • Central - Cllr Iram Hussain (Lab) Haymill and Lynch Hill were re-elected. being made on this project. These • Cippenham Green - Cllr Jemma Davis For a full councillor gallery, with photos beautiful trees will thrive and have a (Lab) and contact number, see p10 and 11. positive effect on air quality and the • Farnham - Cllr Joginder S Bal (Lab) health and wellbeing of our residents.” • Langley Kedermister - Cllr Chandra Mayor and deputy Muvvala (Con) For 2021/22, the Mayor is Cllr • Langley St Mary’s - Cllr Bally Gill (Lab) Mohammed Nazir and the Deputy • Upton - Cllr Gurdeep S Grewal (Lab) Mayor is Cllr Dilbagh Parmar. 4 NEWS www.slough.gov.uk Summer 2021 A year to remember Payments to The registrar team at the council no other family, we were the only the council were a constant in many people’s contact for them.” When bills such as council tax, business lives throughout the pandemic. Now the team is being trained on rates and rents need to be paid, there The sad realities of registering a death changes to the Marriage Act, which will are a variety of payment options. mean there is no longer a register of were made even sadder when families You can set up a regular direct debit so marriage to sign after a wedding couldn’t be with their loved ones at the you don’t have to worry, you can make ceremony.