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.
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The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday 12th April and features the welcome return of JUMP 66, who have done a couple of fabulous, fun rocking shows for the Club in recent years.
Now sporting a beefed-up six-piece line-up, they play a distinctive good-time mix of retro rhythm & blues, early soul, jumping swing and infectious ska Led by former Commitments member Rhod Davies, they now include the charismatic front man Paul Kissaun (ex-Flying Pickets) and keyboardist Pete Saunders (ex-Dexy’s Midnight Runners).
They regularly appear at the Swanage Blues festival, Wolverton Folk & Blues Festival and the Ealing Blues Festival, and there’s info, music, photos and gig list at www.jump66blues.com.
They’re guaranteed to deliver a fun, rocking night to bring our winter season of Music Nights to a close - this is the Club's last Music Night before they shut down for the cricket season during the summer, so get along and make the most of it.
It's £10.00 on the door payable by cash or card. Hot food will be available as usual from about 6.30pm, and the band will be on stage at 8.30pm or a bit later.
Edison is a fine expressive guitarist based in the UK. He has an accessible style with flowing rhythm and melodic lines.
He joins the Terence Collie Trio at the Riverside Arts Centre, Thames Street on Sunday 7th April.
For booking and venue details, click here
Reference is made to previous articles on this site and for those who have been following the progress of the planning application to build a large Battery Energy Storage System {BESS) on Green Belt land adjacent to the Charlton Lane EcoPark should click here to read this important update
An Extraordinary Meeting of the Environment and Sustainability Committee was convened on 29th February to determine options prior to the resumption of the Examination of the Local Plan by the Planning Inspector.
To see the scope of those options, please go here
The outcome which followed the casting vote of the Chairman was as follows:
The Committee resolved to propose to the Inspector to remove all Green Belt allocations from the Local Plan with the exception of the two allocations that meet the need for Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople.
The Committee resolved to propose to the Inspector to keep all proposed flood risk sites but remove those at high risk of flooding and move some higher risk sites to later in the Plan period (11-15 years) to allow the River Thames Scheme to be operational and effective, the design code to be completed, and subject to no resolution objection from the Environment Agency.
The Committee resolved to propose to the Inspector to withdraw the Staines Development Framework as a core document.
We will be interested to see how the Planning Inspector reacts to these fundamental changes in policy; and whether he can allow these resolutions as "main modifications". It's also entirely possible that the Minister of State for Housing will have an opinion following the example of his predecessor, Rachel McLean, with whom the Leader of the Council had a difficult exchange of correspondence.
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday 8th March and is the now-traditional annual event in aid of The Mayor of Spelthorne’s Charities, featuring the Club's house band, THE CHAIN GANG.
This year’s Mayor is Cllr. Denise Saliagopoulos, a councillor for Riverside & Laleham, whose charities are Daybreak Respite Care at St. Peter’s Church, Staines, and the Jasmine Suite, the Ashford & St. Peter’s Breast Cancer Unit.
As ever, the Club has assembled the great and good of our local musicians collective led by Music Night organiser Paul Watts, under their customary name of THE CHAIN GANG in honour of the Mayor’s chain of office, to give their services free to perform what will be a great night of 60s, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, country and rock classics.
This year’s line-up features Karl Green, the former original and long-time bass player in Herman’s Hermits, along with guitarists Gerry Cook from Matrix, Mark Doyle from the Marshall Taylor Band and Tim Renton from 3AM, plus bass players Martin House from Matrix and Roger Harding from the Thames TV Big Band, drummer Stephane Booroff from Sky High and The Escorts, and formerly with Edison Lighthouse, and harmonica wizard Geoff Forester, who has played with numerous blues luminaries.
All proceeds go to the Mayor’s Charities, and we look forward to a bumper crowd for a fun community night to raise as much as we can for two very good causes.
It's £10.00 on the door payable by cash or card. Hot food will be available as usual from about 6.30pm, and the band will be on stage at 8.30pm.
The Riverside Players announce:
After the tremendous success of our murder mystery last spring, we have another one for you wonderful audiences to solve this April. Come and attend the party thrown by billionaire Elton Jack and inspect the evidence to help solve the murder.
Performances:
Friday 12th April at 7.30pm – dinner is included with each ticket
Saturday 13th April at 2.30pm – afternoon tea is included with each ticket
Saturday 13th April at 7.30pm – show only
The Riverside Arts Centre bar will be open for drinks purchases at all performances.
You can book now at: https://
As indicated in a previous post on this site, LOSRA was furious that the Planning, Design and Access Statement (PDAS) for the BESS application indicated that our Association was supportive of this ill-conceived enterprise (scroll down to articles of 5th and 8th February). Following our representation to the company, they made the following statement:
“Following submission of the application for Sunbury BESS (Spelthorne planning application reference 24/0017/FUL) the Applicant was made aware of an error in paragraph 1.9 of the Planning, Design and Access Statement (‘PDAS’). The error stated that Lower Sunbury Residents Association had indicated support for the application, which they had not. The Applicant has subsequently updated the PDAS to remove this sentence and resubmitted it to Spelthorne Council, and made the case officer aware.”
Jordan Martin,
Associate at DWD Chartered Surveyors and Town Planners
The RTS is a major engineering project by the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council to reduce the risk of flooding along the Thames between Egham and Teddington.
In addition to two new channels upstream of Walton, there will be additional weirs downstream, including a large one across Sunbury Lock Ait. This will inevitably damage the view from Kings Lawn.
The principal benefits of the RTS are reduced river levels upstream of Sunbury. These are estimated to be up to 90cm in the area of the two channels - but only 4-8cm downstream of Sunbury Lock. This is a minimal amount given recent river level increases.
The proposals include an “active travel” route between Egham Hythe and Walton, including two new bridges at Chertsey and Desborough Island. However this will be of little benefit to Sunbury residents because the continuation of the active travel route is the tow path on the Walton side of the river.
We believe that incorporating our proposed bridge at Sunbury into the project would provide Sunbury residents with a material benefit from the RTS and we will be lobbying hard for this. Without this benefit there is little, if anything, for Sunbury residents to gain from the RTS.
A “consultation event” is being held at the Hazelwood Centre on Monday 19th February, between 1pm and 7pm. We encourage anyone with an interest in this important subject to attend - and to let the promoters know your views on incorporating a Sunbury bridge and on the new weir.
Further to the article posted on Monday 5th February (scroll down), the following is the text of the Association's letter of objection:
The comments given below on planning application 24/00017/FUL, for the construction and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System (‘BESS’) on strongly performing Green Belt land adjacent to the Charlton Lane EcoPark, are from the Lower Sunbury Residents Association (LOSRA).
LOSRA dissociates itself from the impression given in paragraph 1.9 of the submitted PDAS that it supported the proposed development that was presented to local residents on 19 June 2023. Not only did LOSRA attendees express no such support at the time; LOSRA is now strongly objecting to the submitted proposal for the following reasons:
1. The proposal comprises ‘inappropriate development’ within Green Belt under paragraphs 152-156 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF):
The Applicant has therefore put forward a ‘Very Special Circumstances Report’ in order to argue that the application should nonetheless be approved
2. The claimed ‘very special circumstances’ do not justify such approval:
3. If it were to be built, the BESS complex would represent an unacceptable industrial visual intrusion and extensive health and safety risks:
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday week, 16th February, when the Club welcomes back FIRE & WATER, a band who played one of first Music Nights more than 12 years ago, and who have headlined one of their Beer & Music Festivals in the past.
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 will be available as usual from about 6.30pm, and the band will be on stage around 8.30-8.45.