Campaigning against the unwanted Tory fence: the Council's response does not go far enough!

Over 1,700 Cippenham residents signed the petition against the 8 foot spiked fence the Tory Council put up around the Eltham Ave car park with no consultation. The photo shows Jen, left, at the fence with Bridget Orr, Lib Dem councillor Frank O'Kelly & they were joined by other unhappy residents. This was a community campaign, but the Cippenham Lib Dem Focus team, led by Clr Frank O'Kelly & Jen Simpson played an important role in helping to organise and mobilise support  for the petition.

So many signed it that Jen Simpson, lead petitioner and local resident, was allowed to present the residents' case at meeting a of Slough Borough Council (SBC) on 27 Nov 2025.

Jen thanked the Council for the opportunity to speak on behalf of residents, and explained she was “asking for the support of all councillors.” This was because, “The message that the residents have received from this fence is that decisions effecting their everyday lives can be made without consultation, without impact assessment and without regard to community groups and residents who rely on that space.”

See Slough News sections for the full story, but the Tory Council’s recent response to the petition does not go far enough to fully meet residents’ concerns.
 

Cippenham Lib Dems played the crucial role in the residents' successful campaign to save Slough libraries from the Tory plans to close Cippenham and Langley libraries.

1. On 5 Jan Cippenham Village Lib Dem Cllr Frank O’Kelly started delivering Focus 42 in Cippenham Village ward, despite the rain (right). This was to help spread the messages about how residents could join in the consultation announced by the Tory-run Council on its plan to close Cippenham & Langley libraries, and sign petitions against the Tory plans. Cippenham Lib Dem Focus team members  helped Frank deliver Focus, including Jen Simpson, Bridget Orr and Ranjit Sharma.

2. Frank O’Kelly joined in the consultations, eg at Cippenham library along with Cippenham Focus Team member Robert Plimmer. Ranjit Sharma and another team member joined one of the online consultation, and a Focus Team member joined the consultation at Langley library. Ranjit Sharma joined a Radio Berkshire debate on the libraries.

3.   Cllr O’Kelly’s tactics were vital to ensure the success. Because the previous Labour leader of Slough, and Cippenham councillor, had run up massive Council debts, Slough Council was declared “bankrupt” in 2021. This means Commissioners now oversee all expenditure. Therefore, Frank realised the consultation had to continue to show the Commissioners that the public supported the libraries. So, Frank helped block a Labour-backed motion in Council that might have stopped the consultation early and, therefore, weakened the campaign to keep the libraries.                       
 

4. Cllr Frank O'Kelly also encouraged a local resident to launch one of the successful petitions.