Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Sahara Andrews, the officer with specific responsibility for Lower Sunbury, will be giving local residents the opportunity to meet her and discuss their issues outside the Post Office on Avenue Parade on Wednesday 12^th March between 10:00 am and 11:30 am. This is your chance to have a chat with your local PCSO about any issues you may have or ask questions about the safety and security of your local area. Please do go along and say hello – if she gets lots of engagement, she will hopefully come again soon!

We are sad to report the death at the age of 97 of the legendary jazz drummer and bandleader and popular local personality Tony Kinsey. Born in Sutton Coldfield in 1927, he had his first professional engagement as a teenager in the immediate post-war years, before moving to London and subsequently working on Transatlantic liners in “Geraldo’s Navy” so that he could see the top jazzmen in New York.

He was a founder member of the Johnny Dankworth Seven and was one of the pioneering coterie of modern jazz musicians who started Studio 51 in Soho to perform the new music. He accompanied visiting stars like Lena Horne, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan when they visited the UK, and for 10 years from 1954 into the ‘60s he led his Quartets and Quintets during a long-term residency at The Flamingo Club, where through his astuteness and popularity as a leader most of the luminaries of British modern jazz passed through his ranks, making him one of the most influential and important figures in the genre.   

He recorded prolifically through these years, not only with his bands but playing on sessions with pop artists, appearing in many hits. During the ‘70s he worked on the TV show That’s Life, writing a topical song every week to be performed on the show, and he also began composing library music for use on film and TV, writing a couple of film soundtracks. In recent years he has composed many jazz and classical works, including string quartets and big band suites, which have been performed and recorded. 

He lived in the same house in Lower Sunbury since the 1960s with his wife Pat, who died in 2019 after a near 70-year marriage. He became a popular and much-loved and respected local personality, performing with his bands at St Mary’s Church and Sunbury Cricket Club to raise money for the Embroidery Gallery development, culminating in what was his last show at the Cricket Club in 2016 to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Gallery’s opening, at which, with his big band, he performed and recorded his composition The Embroidery Suite, along with other works. A CD from that show is available at the Gallery. 

Although he was well aware of his significance, he was always modest and understated, loved and respected as a thoroughly nice man and a true gentleman. He will be remembered not only as brilliant and influential musician, but as a well-liked long-time resident of Lower Sunbury who brought a great deal to village life over the years. On behalf of the community, we would express our sincere condolences to Tony’s family and friends.

The national press recently announced the acquisition of the professional London Irish RFC rights. Since then we have received this letter from Chris Kane, the President of the Amateur Club, LIARFC.

The Jordan Associates website describes the Company: "Jordan Associates is a dynamic venture led by Eddie Jordan, a Formula 1 legend and business strategist, alongside a global network of experts in sport, investment, and brand partnerships. We specialize in identifying undervalued sports assets, unlocking their commercial potential, and driving long-term success through strategic acquisitions, financial structuring, and operational enhancements. With deep industry insight and a hands-on approach, we create transformative opportunities in sport, entertainment, and luxury markets—elevating teams, brands, and investors to new levels of performance and profitability."

Readers will recall that we published an article in LOSRA’s 2025 New Year Newsletter concerning the late removal of the latest BESS application from the agenda of the December Planning Committee meeting, where no reason had been given at the time for this unexpected withdrawal. In an attempt to discover more, prior to the Spelthorne Partnership Assembly (SPA) meeting on 3 February, LOSRA had submitted a written question concerning the ongoing Sunbury BESS planning application as follows:

‘Why was the applicant (Sunbury BESS Limited) for planning application 24/01112/FUL (The construction of and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System…on Land To North East Of Eco Park Charlton Lane Shepperton TW17 8QA) permitted to withdraw the application from the agenda of the 10 December 2024 Planning Committee Meeting, just days beforehand (on the afternoon of Friday 7 December) and after the Planning Officer’s Report, recommending refusal, had already been published?’

 The agenda and documents for the SPA meeting included the following response to our question from the Council’s Planning Development Manager:

‘The applicants advised officers that they wanted to amend the scheme by reducing the size of the development and a plan was submitted to illustrate this. The amendment was in addition to seeking to overcome the objections by the Environment Agency. Legal advice was sought on whether officers should accept this request and officers were advised this should be the course of action. The deferral was sought and agreed by the Planning Committee. The formal amended plans are awaited and once received will be uploaded onto the Council’s website.’

 This response is interesting in that it not only confirms that the Environment Agency’s objections were indeed part of the reason why the application was withdrawn from December Planning Committee, but additionally that a smaller BESS development was being considered. However, to date there have been no ‘formal amended plans’ published in the application’s documents list on the Council's website, which shows the revised Agreed Expiry Date of Fri 02 May 2025 for the application. In the meantime we have submitted a further comment on the application to Spelthorne Planning, now published, in the light of January’s significant large-scale BESS fire in California. The text of LOSRA’s latest comment can be found here.

The next Music Night is on Friday 21^st February, when Sunbury Cricket Club welcomes back FIRE & WATER, a band who played one of first Music Nights 15 years ago, and who  have headlined one of the Club's Beer & Music Festivals in the past. 

This year the band celebrates their 25^th anniversary and Paul Cox called specially to ask if they could do a celebratory show at the Cricket Club, and of course the Club was  delighted to accommodate them.

Capturing the spirit and music of Free, Bad Company and Led Zeppelin, Fire & Water comprise Paul Cox, who Radio 2’s Paul Jones says has “one of the best voices in Europe” and  has worked with Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and others; guitarist Mike Summerland, who was with Blodwyn Pig, Georgie Fame and William Bell; bass player Al Maclean, formerly with Kokomo and Hershey & The 12 Bars; and drummer Jim Russel, whose background includes Stretch, Scotty Moore, Curved Air, Desmond Dekker and others. 

An evening of top quality rock and blues is absolutely guaranteed, and it will be a classic old school Sunbury Music Night. 

 It's £10.00 on the door payable by cash or card. Hot food, prepared by the expert chefs from our resident caterers from the community food distribution organisation Surplus To  Supper, will be available as usual from about 6.30pm, and the band will be on stage around 8.30-8.45.

 Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend said policing teams in Surrey will be properly funded to tackle those crimes important to  residents after it was confirmed her proposed   council tax rise will go ahead. 

 The Commissioner’s suggested 4.3% increase in the policing element of the council tax, known as the precept, was discussed at a meeting of the county’s Police and Crime   Panel at Woodhatch Place in Reigate. 

The nine members of the Panel present, made up of local councillors and one independent member, voted on the Commissioner’s proposal with four votes in favour and four votes against with one abstention. The Chair of the Panel cast the deciding vote against. 

However, there were insufficient votes to veto the proposal and the Panel accepted the Commissioner’s precept will come into effect. 

It should be noted that 59% of respondents to the public consultation said they would be willing to pay the £14 increase while 41% voted against it.

Shouldn't this report by the BBC be a matter of concern to residents? Click here for more details.

It's much too early to make any useful predictions as to the position of Spelthorne within any proposed unitary authority but to see this helpful briefing note by the Citizens Advice Bureau, click here.