Councillors to scrutinise ongoing issues at RBWM car parks

Councillors are set to review ongoing problems at Vicus Way and other RBWM car parks, amid concerns about safety, maintenance, lighting, anti-social behaviour, and usage.

Members of the place overview and scrutiny panel will discuss how the Vicus Way car park can be improved at a meeting at Maidenhead Town Hall on Thursday.

This follows repeated concerns from residents and councillors about the £14million multi-storey, along with issues at Stafferton Way and Hines Meadow, and Victoria Street Car Park in Windsor.

The council’s ‘squeezed’ budgets and capacity have led to a reduction in regular maintenance for the car parks and resulted in a ‘reactive approach’, a report set to go before councillors said.

A scoping document put forward by Councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dem, St Mary’s) for the panel said the issue needs to be scrutinised due to ‘high public interest and repeated resident concerns’ and ‘questions of governance, procurement and accountability of contractors and surveyors’.

It added: “There are clear financial, reputational and safety risks to the council.  Oversight through scrutiny is required to restore public confidence and ensure accountability for past and future management decisions.”

At Vicus Way, damaged concrete cladding meant that scaffolding had to be installed around the car park, which has remained in place since May last year.

The council has paid £29k for the scaffolding up until August this year, and since then, £1,600 a month is spent to keep the scaffolding in place until inspections are complete later this financial year.

There are also drainage issues in the car park, which have resulted in water ingress into the lift shaft.

The scoping document said the main focus of the review will be Vicus Way, but it will also take into account works required at other borough-managed car parks.

For example, in November this year, the council’s cabinet approved a £280k budget to repair the CCTV and improve lighting fixtures inside Stafferton Way. The work is expected to start by the end of March 2026.

Key lines of enquiry for the review include lessons that can be learned for future projects, safety and security arrangements, and accountability for the ongoing scaffolding issue.

An investment into Maidenhead’s car parks from Areli, the developer of the Nicholsons Centre, is expected to be secured through a Section 106 agreement.

The amount of the contribution has not yet been confirmed.