What happens from here?
Windsor's Community Governance Review is now underway. Over the coming months residents will have opportunities to comment before any final decision is made.
Residents are being asked for their views
The Royal Borough published the Terms of Reference for the Community Governance Review in July 2026 and opened the first public consultation in August.
This is the first formal stage in deciding whether Windsor should have a Town Council.
Responses received during this consultation will be considered when the Council develops its Draft Recommendations.
Those draft recommendations will then be published and residents will get another opportunity to comment before final recommendations are produced.
So there is still a significant process to go through before any decision is made.
From consultation to a possible election
RBWM's Terms of Reference set out a process running from summer 2026 through to May 2028.
Terms of Reference published
The formal Community Governance Review begins and the area and scope of the review are established.
First public consultation
Residents are asked for proposals and comments on the potential creation of Town Councils for Windsor and Maidenhead.
Draft Recommendations published
Feedback from the first consultation is considered and draft recommendations are prepared.
Residents are consulted again
The public will have another opportunity to comment specifically on the Draft Recommendations.
Final Recommendations
Final recommendations are due to be presented to Full Council for consideration.
Reorganisation Order
If the decision is to create a Town Council, a formal Community Governance Reorganisation Order would be made.
First Town Council elections
Subject to the outcome of the review, residents would elect the first councillors to Windsor Town Council.
Have your say before 30 September
The first consultation will directly inform the Draft Recommendations.
This is the stage where residents can give their views on the proposal and how any future Town Council might be structured.
You do not need to be an expert on local government. The important thing is to tell RBWM what you think.
Take part in the consultation →Which parts of Windsor are being considered?
The 2026 review is focused on the currently unparished parts of Windsor.
RBWM's Terms of Reference describe the Windsor review area as twelve polling districts spanning:
- Clewer East
- Clewer & Dedworth East
- part of Clewer & Dedworth West
- part of Eton & Castle
- part of Old Windsor ward
The review can consider whether all or only part of the review area should form a new council, as well as possible internal warding arrangements.
There is more than one possible outcome
The review is not simply a yes-or-no exercise. It can also consider how any new council should be structured.
Create a Town Council?
The review can recommend creating a new council or leaving the existing arrangements unchanged.
What area should it cover?
A recommendation could include all or part of the Windsor review area.
Should it have wards?
A new Town Council could be unwarded or divided into local wards reflecting communities.
How should it work?
The review can consider electoral arrangements, councillor numbers and practical governance issues.
Your response is not the end of the process
There are several further stages before a final decision.
Draft Recommendations
Responses from this first consultation will help the Community Governance Review Working Group develop its draft recommendations.
A second consultation
Residents will then be able to respond to the actual Draft Recommendations.
Final decision stage
Final Recommendations will be put before Full Council, which will decide what happens next.
A Town Council is not a foregone conclusion
The purpose of the review is to gather evidence and decide what form of community governance best serves Windsor.
One possible outcome is that a Town Council is created. Another is that no change is made.
The recommendations may also differ from the proposals being considered at the beginning of the review.
That is why residents' responses during both consultation stages matter.
Residents would elect the first councillors
RBWM's current timetable provides for elections to a Windsor Town Council on 4 May 2028, if the review results in a decision to create one.
A Community Governance Reorganisation Order would first need to be made, currently scheduled for October 2027 if applicable.
Elections would only take place if the review concludes that a Windsor Town Council should be established.
The most useful thing you can do now is have your say
The first consultation closes on 30 September 2026. Whatever your view on a Windsor Town Council, this is your opportunity to make sure it is included.