Climate protest and a time to remember
All eyes turned to Glasgow as COP26 got underway and world leaders discussed the future of our planet.
The climate conversation continued to feature heavily closer to home, with calls for the council’s five-year corporate plan to have more of an environmental focus and borough residents taking part in a series of eco-friendly activities to coincide with the international summit.
The Maidenhead golf course development loomed large, as hundreds of people attended a protest outside Maidenhead Town Hall calling for the land to be converted into a park rather than being developed for 2,000 homes.
The Royal Borough’s draft budget arrived with a promise that it would be ‘less painful’ than the year before, but the council’s spending was placed under more scrutiny as a Maidenhead couple who won a legal discrimination battle with the borough hit out at the £439,000 cost to taxpayers.
In November, we remembered those we have lost as Remembrance services took place across the borough following more low-key ceremonies in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In Riverside Gardens, a COVID-19 memorial was opened, paying tribute to those who had lost their lives to the virus. It was set up in memory of former Maidenhead Labour Party chairman David Knowles-Leak, who died from COVID-19 last year.
And, at an inquest, the parents of Jordan Veira remembered a ‘fun-loving teenager, developing into a lively young man’ following his death in the Thames in May. The inquest heard a series of suggestions on how to improve river safety and avoid more tragedies in the future.
Finally, the festive season began to approach, and Olympic and Paralympic stars were on hand to switch on Maidenhead’s Christmas lights.