Welcome to the LOSRA Website
As with any other local neighbourhood, the policies and actions which affect the character and future of Lower Sunbury are generally framed and implemented by a combination of local and national government, along with the vested interests and market forces which operate within those frameworks. Lower Sunbury is by no means unique in being under threat from a creaking infrastructure brought about by rapid urban development, the growth of traffic, and other pressures affecting the quality of life and the character of the area.
Working with the local authorities, we see it as the responsibility of residents’ and amenity groups such as LOSRA to address the underlying issues which fundamentally affect their members’ lives, as well as the minutiae of everyday life with which such groups are often concerned.
Please sign up to receive our regular e-bulletins by subscribing via the facility at the top left hand of this page. It goes without saying that, without your continued support we would cease to function so we urge you to join, or renew your membership now Subscriptions (£5 per household) for 2024 are now payable.
Spelthorne Against the "Eco" Park (SATEP) - Fundraiser Appeal
On 17th March Surrey County Council ignored local people, technical experts and even its own consultants to give the go-ahead to a high-risk waste gasifier at Charlton Lane.
Once again, we need to pull together as a community. The next step - and our only hope of stopping this - is a Judicial Review. Surrey are banking on the fact that the people of Spelthorne don't care enough to stop this. We know better.
Here's what you can do:
1. Email your local Spelthorne Borough Councillors here and demand that they support residents with a Judicial Review. There is no better way for your taxes to be spent - once the incinerator is here we will be blighted by a chimney taller than Nelson's Column belching toxic fumes over our schools and homes. And by then it will be too late.
2. Email our MP Kwasi Kwarteng and ask for him to demand that this Planning Decision is 'called in' by the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles.
3. Email the Surrey Councillors and tell them what you think of their ill-judged decision.
4. Please help by attending this event in support of our fighting fund. We had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but we now need to start getting lawyers involved, which costs. We have a great case but we need your support and every penny raised will be used to fight the incinerator.
5. Spread the word. Unbelievably, local people are still totally unaware that a huge incinerator is about to be built on the site of the tip at Charlton Lane. Join our Facebook group, tell your friends, family and neighbours. Together we can stop this.
The Dale Harris Guitar Show
Date: 26th April 2014
Venue: Jubilee Church Centre, Manygate Lane, Shepperton, TW17 9EE
Cause: Raising money for SATEP’s (Spelthorne against the “Eco” Park) Legal Fight Fund
Prepare to be dazzled! Shepperton-based musician Dale Harris is to perform one of his famous guitar shows where he’ll play a collection of well-known classical pieces and popular songs in a variety of ways, on an array of guitars.
Proceeds from the concert will be used to pay for the legal challenge campaigners face in the ongoing battle to stop a toxic emitting, untried, untested prototype industrial waste plant being built in Shepperton.
Admission: £10 or £7 concessions.
Info available at: www.satep.co.uk
Thames 21 Seeks Volunteers for Clean-up
Regular visitors to this site will be familiar with Thames 21 and LOSRA's support for the sterling work this registered charity carries out in preserving our most beautiful reaches of the Thames.
Litter-picking and general tidying up will be particularly important this year after the deposits left by the winter's high flood waters.
You are invited to volunteer a helping hand for a few hours.
To see the message from Luke Dameron of Thames 21, click here; The dates for Sunbury Lock Ait events are shown on this notice.
The 60s All Stars Return to Sunbury Cricket Club, Friday 11th April
The next Music Night at the SCC is on Friday 11th April, when the Club welcomes back one of its most popular bands The 60s All Stars to kick off the cricket season, which starts at the Club the following day. Regular music night goers will be already be familiar with the line-up, but for the uninitiated, they comprise Alan Lovell, a current member of The Swinging Blue Jeans, John Dee from of The Foundations, Mick Avory, original drummer with The Kinks through their hit-making heyday, and Del Mandel, formerly with George Harrison and Crispian St. Peters. They guarantee a fabulous evening of wall-to-wall beat era classics that will give us a proper pre-Easter holiday party night with enough room for dancing. Check them out at www.the60sallstars.co.uk.
Club membership, a note from the Club:
"We don’t insist that people who come to the Music Nights are members of the Club, but we are introducing a scheme which we hope will encourage you to become Non-Playing Members. Anyone who is a member of Club – and you can be a Non-Playing Member for just £20, will receive a smart card which, when it is swiped through our newly-upgraded till, will automatically give you a discount off drinks you buy at the bar. The discount won’t be a fixed percentage, but it will be in the 5-10% region, and rather better than that on bottles of wine, I believe. Whatever the case, it won’t take you long to recoup the cost of membership, and if you take advantage of the scheme to spend a bit of time at the Club at the weekends during the cricket season, it will be a more than worthwhile investment, and the subscription income is very important to the Club. We will have membership forms available at the next Music Night, so we hope you will take advantage of the scheme."
Free Cycling Festival - All Ages Welcome
All residents are invited to the Cycling Festival from 10am-4pm on Tuesday 8 April at the Lammas Recreation Ground in Staines-upon-Thames.
This free event for all ages will include:
- a guided bike ride - as part of the Cycling for Health scheme. Family ride 10am and an adults-only ride 2pm. Please bring your own bike and helmet.
- smoothie bike - pedal your way to blending a healthy smoothie
- bike maintenance - have your bike serviced for free
- balanceability - the opportunity for 2½ - 6 year olds to learn to cycle
- bike marking - have your bike securely marked by Surrey Police
- wheels for all - the opportunity for people with disabilities to cycle
- Everyone Active – participate in a cycling challenge
- club information – find out about local cycling clubs
- ‘Open All Ours’ cycle shop - purchase bikes and a range of accessories
- The National Cycling Charity (CTC) - speak to the CTC about cycling in your local community
Cllr Penny Forbes-Forsyth, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Young People and Leisure said: “We have seen a boom in cycling in Spelthorne since the London 2012 Olympic Games and we want to encourage even more people to get involved and continue cycling. Community is one of the Council’s key values and this free event offers numerous opportunities for people of all ages to get involved.”
For further details visit www.spelthorne.gov.uk/cyclingforhealth, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01784 446433.
Spelthorne Council Signs Community Covenant
Spelthorne is among the latest Surrey boroughs to join with its partners to sign a Community Covenant.
A Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local Armed Forces Community.
In Spelthorne the key objectives in the covenant are:
- Recognise
- Remember
- Integrate
- Support
Surrey County Council were first to sign the Surrey Community Covenant, followed by districts and boroughs throughout the county.
Spelthorne is to undertake the signing on 24 April, alongside partners from the public, private and voluntary/community sector.
Partners include the emergency services, local businesses, ex-service organisations, voluntary organisations and charities.
The signing will precede Armed Forces Day; later in the year is the commemoration of the start of World War One.
Two "champions" have been chosen to promote the commemorative events in the borough: Cllr Spencer Taylor (Services Champion) and Cllr Robin Sider (World War One Champion).
In the wake of the covenant signing, Cllr Taylor will lead a working group to implement locally the key objectives in the community covenant.
Spelthorne Council Leader Cllr Robert Watts said: "Taking part in this national initiative, which shows our commitment to supporting our armed forces and veterans, upholds our borough's core values of community, opportunity, self-reliance and tradition.
"While Spelthorne has no obvious military connections such as an Army base, a large proportion of our residents are, or have connections to, serving or former service personnel and veterans of conflict."
For further information contact Michael Graham on 01784 446227, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Spring Newsletter Out Now
The Spring newsletter has been sent to the printers and we expect house-to-house deliveries to start next weekend.
You may of course take this opportunity to view an electronic version now by clicking here
More...
A Dark Day for Local Democracy as SCC Approves Incinerator
Surrey County Council has ignored local people, technical experts and even its own consultants to give the go-ahead to a high-risk waste gasifier on the same site as the Charlton Lane waste Recycling Centre.
The Incinerator and Anaerobic Digester, a potentially explosive combination, has never been co-located on one site before and the incineration technology is unproven to burn household waste. The truth is that the Eco Park is an experiment with Shepperton and Sunbury residents the unwilling guinea pigs. Indeed, a member of the Surrey Planning Committee even suggested in an email that residents should consider moving if they don't like it!
Why is this happening? It's all about corporate greed with the health & wellbeing of residents coming a poor second. For more on this story and further action, visit: http://satep.co.uk/
Flood Relief Fund
Spelthorne Council has announced that the £14,600 donated to its Flood Relief Fund so far is to be given to the Community Foundation for Surrey’s Flood Recovery Appeal. The Spelthorne contribution will be set aside to support Spelthorne residents.
The fund is being administered by Runnymede and Spelthorne Citizens Advice Bureau and is currently open to anyone whose home has been flooded, to ease the immediate financial hardship they may be experiencing. Priority will be given to the most vulnerable and isolated, including older people, people with disabilities, people on low incomes and families with young children. Individuals in need of support can call the CAB helpline on 01932 827187 for more information and to apply.
Cllr Daxa Patel, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for emergency planning said, “We are extremely appreciative of the generosity of those community groups, businesses, individuals and others who have contributed to our fund. Our aim is to help our local communities and residents recover from these recent distressing events and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”
Donations to the Spelthorne Flood Relief Fund can be made by telephoning Customer Services on 01784 451499 in cash at the Council Offices, or by cheque payable to Spelthorne Borough Council Flood Relief.
Surrey Herald Front Page Report - LOSRA Response
Many of our readers will have seen the front page article in last week's Surrey Herald in which it is claimed that the Crest Nicholson plans for the London Irish site in The Avenue are welcomed by LOSRA. Let's be clear: LOSRA, in partnership with SOLID (Sunbury Opposes London Irish Development) has, from the very outset, opposed any development of this site. It was with good reason that the Council had designated the land as 'protected urban open space' and this Association was a party to the Examination in Public at which that designated status was eventually approved by the (then) Deputy Prime Minister's Office.
In these short paragraphs it is not intended to rehearse the myriad stages of a long 6 years campaign. Suffice to say that, at its conclusion, permission to develop the site was eventually granted after a planning inspector, whilst refusing one application, signalled a green light for an alternative scheme provided certain conditions could be met. From this point onwards it was not a question of whether a development would go ahead, but when and what kind. Public consultations followed at which various options were discussed and these were eventuallly reduced to just two; one of which made no on-site provision for affordable housing; and the other, partial provision together with a financial contribution towards the off-site allocation of the remainder. The Local Planning Authority made it very clear that the first of these options would not be acceptable and it is the second which forms the basis of the planning application now up for public consultation (Ref: 14/00275/FUL).
LOSRA was invited by the Surrey Herald to comment and, very much in the spirit of 'best of a bad bunch', and conscious of residents' stated preferences, gave its qualified support. In short being "in favour" of the application should more accurately have read "in favour of this application when compared with all the others which had been variously proposed". We do not believe that the Surrey Herald article accurately reflected this sentiment.
Youngsters, Try a New Sport for Free as Part of the P&G Surrey Youth Games
Team Spelthorne is looking for young people aged 7-16 to participate in the annual P&G Surrey Youth Games. The P&G Surrey Youth Games is the largest annual youth festival with over 2000 young people experiencing a competitive, countywide sporting event. The event is a great opportunity to try a new sport or improve existing skills.
The coaching sessions take place from the end of April and there are fifteen sports on offer including hockey, cricket, judo, football, basketball, lacrosse, tag rugby, table tennis and boccia. Thanks to sponsorship from local organisations, Everyone Active and Shepperton Studios, Spelthorne Borough Council is offering the coaching sessions free of charge. Participants will then be selected to represent Team Spelthorne at the games on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June 2014 at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford.
To be eligible for Team Spelthorne, you must either live or go to school in Spelthorne and if you already play a sport, you must be below county standard. Please register online at www.spelthorne.gov.uk/surreyyouthgames to guarantee your place. Each sport has limited spaces and places are given on a first come first served basis. Please visit the website for a full list of sports, coaching timetable and eligibility criteria.
For more information email Spelthorne Leisure Services on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01784 446433.
British Blues Great, Dave Kelly Comes to Sunbury Cricket Club, 21st March
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club on Friday 21st March promises to be an evening to remember as it welcomes for the first time one of the truly great names of British blues – The Dave Kelly Band.
Dave was a founder member of The Blues Band with Paul Jones, Hughie Flint & Tom McGuinness in 1979, by which time he was already a seasoned blues artist with a reputation across the world. In the early sixties he started performing acoustic, mostly Mississippi style blues in folk clubs – he was a disciple of Mississippi Fred McDowell. His first performance was a floor spot at The Half Moon Putney in 1964 - a session run by Gerry Lockran, Cliff Aungier & Royd Rivers. In 1966 he went to the USA and played at Gerde's Folk City in New York where he was invited to join several bands – but decided to return to the UK to join The John Dummer Blues Band as lead vocalist and guitarist along with his sister, the late great Jo-Ann Kelly. With the Dummer Band he made two UK tours backing John Lee Hooker and one with Howlin Wolf, and also played with Freddie King. He went on to form Tramp along with Jo-Ann and Tony Mc Phee of The Groundhogs.
As well as his long-term commitments with The Blues Band, he has toured and done TV shows with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. He has also appeared in acoustic duos/trios with Paul Jones, Maggie Bell and Long John Baldry as well as regular tours with Christine Collister and The Travelling Gentlemen. He is one of the very best slide guitarists in British blues, regularly doing solo acoustic gigs, and has won the British Blues Awards acoustic artist of the year for five consecutive years, after which he was kicked upstairs to the House of Lords and not allowed to enter any more.
There are a number of videos on YouTube of Dave, many showcasing his brilliant slide guitar technique, and they are well worth a look – go to youtube.com/results?search_query=dave%20kelly&sm=12
The Club is very fortunate to have an artist of Dave’s stature at the Club, and an evening of top class blues is guaranteed.
Fly Tipping in Lower Sunbury - What Can You Do?
The photograph depicts an incident of fly tipping on the cycle path at the end of Sunna Gardens. The Council is arranging for a clear-up this weekend and, indeed, has proved to be very responsive when incidents such as these are reported to it. Residents are encouraged to notify www.spelthorne.gov.uk/article/2235/Fly-tipping if they discover any illegal deposits. Should the crime of fly-tipping actually be witnessed, then the police should be notified in the usual way using the 999 emergency service.
Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Association Announces 2014 Season of Coffee Concerts
The Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Association is pleased to present the 2014 programme of Saturday morning classical Coffee Concerts which will take place at the Riverside Arts Centre, 59 Thames Street.
Tickets, priced at £7.50, include coffee and croissants, served before the performance. Doors open at 10.15 am and the hour-long concerts commence at 11.00 am
The first concert takes place on Saturday 22 March, when the highly acclaimed pianist, Joseph Tong, returns to Lower Sunbury with a programme comprising works by Haydn, Ravel and Liszt.
Subsequent concerts will take place on 26 April, 11 October and 22 November. The April recital features the duo of David Gaster, violin, and Linda Marley, piano, performing works by Beethoven, Suk and Sibelius. Pianist Ingrid Attwater makes a welcome return in October and cellist Lesley Shrigley Jones will give the recital in November.
Tickets are available from the box office on 01932 782 788 or on the door immediately prior to the performance.
Cattle in Sunbury Park - Council Answers Your Questions
Following recent press coverage and the article published here on 21st January, the Council has published its answers to questions which are being raised by many residents. To view, click here:
