Dear All,
You have probably been following the News with increasing horror and dismay regarding civil unrest - not only across London, but also Birmingham, Bristol and many other towns and cities. Some of what has been happening is not too far from our borders so I write to update you on the present situation and to reassure you, as best I can, that the Council is working very closely with the Surrey Police with regards to this delicate issue.
I have set up regular daily updates with Sarah Greenhalgh of the Surrey Police as well as with our Emergency Planning Officer, Nick Moon, who is updating me on Surrey Resilience Forum news.
The Surrey Police “intelligence” is that it is ‘business as usual’ and should the situation change for whatever reason we will let you know. They are continuing to monitor Social Networks and have indicated that as only 2 of the police staff in the Spelthorne deployment have the appropriate qualifications/experience to be loaned to the Metropolitan Police, that in practice, our Community Policing presence will remain unaffected.
In terms of our organisational preparedness, I would urge Councillors and staff to remain calm, yet vigilant, and to report any untoward activity as soon as possible to the Surrey Police. Our Leisure Services staff will continue to provide Youth related leisure provision so that the UJAM music, dance and arts event planned for Staines this Thursday, 12 to 4pm will proceed as planned. Everyone Active (SLM) will continue with their summer programmes in both Sunbury and Spelthorne Leisure Centres; Building Control will be asked to pay extra attention to the security of building sites to ensure materials are stored with greater security. Our Street Scene staff are being asked to ensure that litter bins remain emptied to minimise the chance of being set alight and we will be paying particular attention to our street sweeping so as to clear any potential ammunition debris.
You will note that this is also copied to our colleagues in both the Elmsleigh Centre and the Two Rivers as well as our colleagues representing the business communities of Ashford, Sunbury, Sunbury Cross and Shepperton.
Again, the message is of calmness and business as usual, helped by our local Police who will be maintaining a visible presence.
Clearly, events could change quickly but I felt it appropriate for you to at least be aware of how we are taking-stock of the situation.
Kind regards.
Roberto