Maidenhead, Windsor and the villages along the Thames share one council and one big question for homeowners: the river. This guide covers flood risk, hard water, the planning rules that come with historic towns and the Green Belt, and the local tip, with links to the council pages that matter and to vetted local trades when you need one.
Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information. Always check with your council for your own address.
| If you live in… | Your council is… |
|---|---|
| Maidenhead, Windsor, Eton, Datchet, Old Windsor, Wraysbury, Horton, Cookham, Bray, Holyport, Cox Green, Bisham, Hurley, Sunningdale, Sunninghill and Ascot | The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead |
| Slough, Langley and Colnbrook | Slough Borough Council. See our Slough guide. |
| Most of North Ascot | Bracknell Forest Council. See our Bracknell guide. |
Not sure which council you're in? Enter your postcode on GOV.UK's find your local council tool.
Thames Water supplies most homes in the borough, and Affinity Water supplies some areas, so check your water bill to see which supplies you. Thames Water handles the sewers. The water is hard, so limescale builds up wherever water is heated or left to dry.
What helps:
The Jubilee River is an 11.6 km flood relief channel that has protected about 3,000 homes and businesses in Maidenhead, Windsor, Eton and Cookham since 2002. Villages further downstream, such as Wraysbury, Datchet, Horton and Old Windsor, are outside it.
The Thames still floods. The council’s own records show about 128 homes affected in January 2003, many on Ham Island and in Wraysbury; about 170 properties flooded inside in winter 2013/14; and 271 properties affected in January 2024 (Storm Henk), 94 of them inside, with Wraysbury, Bisham and Cookham among the worst hit.
The council gives sandbags only to vulnerable residents when flooding is imminent, not as a precaution. So three things are worth doing before the wet months:
Check your long-term flood risk on GOV.UK's flood risk checker.
Sign up for free flood warnings through GOV.UK's flood warnings service, or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
Make a simple flood plan: Know where your gas, electricity and water shut-offs are. Keep important documents somewhere safe and high up. Photograph your home and belongings now, in case you need to claim.
Thames at Maidenhead river level · Thames at Windsor river level · RBWM: flooding · Flood Re: insurance in flood risk areas · The evidence a home insurance claim needs
The borough has 27 conservation areas. They include:
If your home is in one, you’ll probably need planning permission for some work that would be "permitted development" elsewhere. You must also tell the council before cutting back or felling most trees. Listed homes need listed building consent for most changes, inside and out.
About 82% of the borough is Green Belt, so larger extensions and outbuildings face stricter tests across most of the villages.
RBWM: conservation areas · Permitted development vs planning permission
Before any work on an older home:
The borough has far more detached houses than average. In the 2021 Census, 30.7% of homes were detached, against 22.9% across England. Larger and older homes mean bigger roofs, more windows and longer runs of pipework to look after:
The borough's household waste and recycling centre is on Stafferton Way, Maidenhead (SL6 1AY). There's no tip in Windsor.
Stafferton Way is open every day: from 8am, with last entry at 7.45pm from April to September, and last entry at 4.15pm from October to March.
It's for borough residents only, so bring your Advantage Card, or photo ID and proof of address.
DIY waste is limited to one car boot load (six sacks) per trip, once a month. Vans need a van permit for every visit, and there’s a 2.1m height barrier.
Windsor residents can also use the Chalvey recycling centre in Slough, bringing proof of address and photo ID. Ascot residents (SL5) can use the Lyne recycling centre near Chertsey.
RBWM: Stafferton Way recycling centre · Slough Borough Council: using Chalvey
Near the Thames? Sign up for flood warnings now, and keep valuables and documents up high.
Clear gutters and gullies once the leaves are down. See the October home maintenance checklist.
Get the boiler serviced before the cold weather, and ask about scale.
Find your stopcock and check it turns, before a pipe freezes or bursts. See what to do if a pipe bursts.
Check your insurance covers flooding, and keep receipts and photos in one place.
When a job comes up, you can compare quotes from up to three vetted local trades. Each trade's insurance and certificates are checked before they can quote. Quotes come through Trade Pilot, our platform for trades.
All trades in Maidenhead → · All trades in Windsor → · How we check trades
Moving or buying elsewhere? See all our local guides.
The council’s HMO pages cover mandatory licensing only. A house in multiple occupation (HMO) with five or more people forming two or more households needs a licence.
The fees from April 2026 are £920.70 for a first licence covering up to five bedrooms, £847.00 for a renewal or a second property, and £30.80 for each extra bedroom. Licences last up to five years.
Every rental still needs the standard safety checks. England's new landlord register opens region by region from 15 December 2026, subject to Parliament approving the regulations. In the South East, which includes the borough, landlords must register from 15 March 2027, with a deadline of 14 June 2027.
RBWM: apply for an HMO licence · The landlord certificate checklist → · Landlord register dates →
Home+ is a free app that builds your home’s maintenance schedule and reminds you before the boiler service or a safety check is due. It also keeps certificates, guarantees, receipts and photos in one place, ready for an insurance claim or for when you sell.
Create your free Home+ account and get your home's maintenance schedule, with reminders before each check is due.