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.
Citizens Advice for Spelthorne and Runnymede - End of Year Message
Alan Barnes Joins the Terence Collie Trio at the RAC on 22nd December
Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, bandleader and touring soloist. He is best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone saxophone where he combines a formidable virtuosity with a musical expression and collaborative spirit which has few peers.
His range and brilliance have made him a “first call” for studio and live work since his precocious arrival on the scene more than thirty years ago.
His recorded catalogue is immense. He has made over thirty albums as leader and co-leader alone, and the list of his session and side-man work includes Bjork, Bryan Ferry, Michel LeGrande, Clare Teale, Westlife, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum. He has toured and played residencies with such diverse and demanding figures as Ruby Braff, Freddie Hubbard, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen and Conte Candoli.
In British jazz, the young Barnes was recognized – and hired – by the established greats of the time: Stan Tracy, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, and Humphrey Lyttelton. But he is equally respected for his longstanding and fruitful collaborations with contemporaries such as David Newton, Bruce Adams, and Martin Taylor. He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2014 for clarinet, and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.
He will be joined by the Terence Collie trio at the Riverside Arts Centre on Sunday, 22nd December.
Local Plan consultation extended to 21st January
The following welcome email has been received from the Council:
Spelthorne Council has extended its public consultation on a new Local Plan for the Borough, which sets out proposals for where housing, employment and other development will be built up to 2035. The original consultation period already exceeded the statutory minimum 6 weeks to take account of the Christmas break. However, the General Election wasn't originally expected and therefore we've again extended the period within which local residents can respond.
The consultation will now run until Tuesday 21 January 2020 and gives another two weeks for residents to give their views on the proposed allocations and policies.
A Council spokesperson said: "Effective consultation and engagement with the local community is vital in the preparation of a new Local Plan, which will affect all our residents. We've already had a large response but we recognise that the elections are some people's priority at the moment. Extending the consultation gives us more opportunity to arrange further public presentations if needed in the New Year to ensure everyone is fully informed and can have their say."
- The Local Plan consultation opened on Tuesday 5 November 2019 and now runs up to Tuesday 21 January 2020
- Three more public information dates have been added to provide further information to residents on the Local Plan for Spelthorne; Tuesday 10 & 17 December at 7pm and Monday 16 December at 2pm. Book now for your place here
- Further information on the Local Plan and how to respond here
- Keep up to date with all Council news by signing up to our e-newsletter here or register for My Alerts here which will keep you informed on selected information by email.
Lynne Gardner
Planning Policy Technician
Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB
Tel: 01784 446449
Council Announces Consultation on Homeless Strategy
Spelthorne Borough Council has launched a public consultation regarding the draft framework of its new Homelessness Strategy, which will address homelessness and rough sleeping in Spelthorne for 2020 to 2025. The consultation will run from Monday 2 December to midday Monday 13 January.
The overall aims of the strategy are to ensure nobody sleeps rough in Spelthorne, ending the use of bed and breakfast accommodation, reducing the length of time people stay in temporary accommodation, increase the use of the private sector for homelessness prevention and investing in staff training and development to improve the Housing Options service.
You can view further details on how we aim to achieve this and also the consultation here. Hard copies are also available at the Council Offices in Staines-upon-Thames, as well as at all local libraries, so that residents without internet access will be able to feed into the consultation.
Mersey Legends return to the SCC for a Pre-Christmas bash!
Hot on the heels of the really excellent Bad Influence show on Friday, the next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is in less than a couple weeks’ time on Friday 6th December when we welcome THE MERSEY LEGENDS for our now traditional pre-Christmas gig to kick off the festive party season in our customary style.
It’s always great to welcome them back, as we know we can guarantee a proper rave-up as ever, with a rip-roaring evening of wall-to-wall Mersey Era classics just like the Cluib’s had for the last five years or so. The Mersey Legends are led by Yanni, born in Liverpool and who played at The Cavern with his band The Seftons in the heyday of the beat boom – the band were top of the bill when the Cavern re-opened in 1967.
He has been true to his Liverpool roots ever since, creating a band and a brilliantly honed act specifically designed to celebrate the great sounds of the Mersey Era. Get this one in the diary and get a gang of friends together, because we’re sure it will be a great party night as always. There’s more info at www.themerseylegends.co.uk.
Tickets are £7.50 on the door, and food will be available as usual.
All Welcome to the Sunbury Christmas Market, 5th December 5 - 8pm
As in previous years the Christmas Market will be held from 5-8pm at the bottom of The Avenue which will be closed to traffic from 3 – 9pm. The Market will feature stalls galore, food, gifts, Santa’s Grotto and the big community raffle. The Salvation Army will be playing carols from around 6.30pm. All monies raised will be going to good causes.
LOSRA will have its own stall so please visit and have a chat to our members, renew your membership or raise your concerns.
More...
Bad Influence to Return to the SCC on Friday 22nd November
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday 22nd November, when the Club is delighted to welcome BAD INFLUENCE whose scheduled August gig had to be postponed, and who haven’t played at the club since they closed the show with a rousing set at last year’s Beer Festival.
They are led by Val Cowell (vocals and guitar) and Richard Hayes (lead & slide guitar), who have been permanent members since the band formed in 1986, and the line-up is completed by Pete Stroud on bass (formerly with Peter Green’s Splinter Group and familiar to you as bass player with Buddy Whittington) and long-time drummer Harry James (former member of Thunder and Magnum).
They play a distinctive brand of up-front blues and rock, blending original material from their albums with interpretations of material from the likes of Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt and Fleetwood Mac. It will be a fine evening of archetypal Sunbury Music Night fare. There’s more info at www.badinfluence.org.uk.
Food will be available from about 7.15. As you know, this is the first Music Night after the refurbishment of the Club bar, so it’s a good opportunity to come and check out the new surroundings (although of course the hall itself hasn’t changed). We look forward to seeing you there.
Autumn Newsletter Requires Your Immediate Attention
Our periodical newsletters are always worth a read but, from time to time, they assume greater significance and our autumn 2019 offering is no exception. Not since 2007 when the Council’s local plan was last revised has there been a more significant moment.
Spelthorne Council Requests Review of Government Housing Target
Very much on-topic, the Council announces that it is urging Government to re-think excessive ‘housing need’ figures on the day the Council starts consulting on the next stage of the Local Plan (see article of 4th November below).
Consultation on Proposals to Introduce 20 mph in Lower Sunbury and Traffic Calming in French Street
Further to the article posted on this site on 4th November (scroll down) the following will help to visualise what is being proposed:
For map illustration of proposed 20mph zone, click here
For diagrammatic illustration of street calming proposals in French Street, click here
Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation
Spelthorne Council's Cabinet met on 25 September to discuss the next stage in producing a new Local Plan for the Borough. The Preferred Options consultation will run from Tuesday 5 November 2019 to Tuesday 7 January 2020 and there will be a range of public events to provide further information.
Information about the Local Plan will be communicated in a number of ways to ensure all residents have the information available to them. If you register on the Council’s consultation portal at https://consult.spelthorne.gov.uk for updates you will receive an email or letter notifying you when the consultation begins. The Bulletin, distributed to residents in the first week of December, will be a bumper edition with 8 pages of Local Plan news.
Spelthorne must plan for 603 new homes per year over a 15-year period as part of the Government's aim to see more housing built. The first consultation on the Local Plan took place in May and June last year and asked the public to consider options for how Spelthorne will meet its need for housing, gypsy and traveller pitches, employment sites and other uses. The next stage will be to set out draft policies for the new plan and proposed sites across the Borough to be allocated for development. The selection of sites follows the preferred strategy, following previous consultation, to maximise building on land in urban areas such as town centres, particularly Staines-upon-Thames, and to consider releasing some 'weakly performing' Green Belt for development. This will enable the protection of the Borough's most important green spaces. If the Council does not have a viable Local Plan it will be much more difficult to control future developments.
Please make sure you read our autumn newsletter which will be distributed to all households in Lower Sunbury shortly after the commencement date, 5th November. It may also be read online at www.losra.org after that date.
Consultation on Proposals to Introduce 20 mph in Lower Sunbury and Traffic Calming in French Street
There is a current consultation by Surrey CC about 20 mph zone and speed bumps down the length of French St and also around Church St/Anvil Road/Forge lane.
To view 20 mph proposals, click here
To view proposed traffic calming measures in French Street, click here
Consultation closing date - 22nd November.
Local Plan - Have Your Say!
The following notice has been published by Spelthorne Council and we are very pleased to post it on our website. Please look out for our newsletter which will be distributed to all local households in the Lower Sunbury area from mid-November or on line at this website.
Message from Spelthorne
Consultation on the next stage of the Spelthorne Local Plan will take place from 12 noon Tuesday 5 November 2019 to 7 January 2020. The first consultation on the Local Plan was held last year and asked the public to consider options for how Spelthorne will meet its need for housing, gypsy and traveller pitches, employment sites and other uses. This stage sets out draft policies for the new plan and proposed sites across the Borough to be allocated for development. The selection of sites follows the preferred strategy, to maximise building on land in urban areas such as town centres, particularly Staines-upon-Thames, and to consider releasing some ‘weakly performing’ Green Belt for development. This option will enable the protection of the Borough’s most important green spaces.
The full Local Plan Policies and Sites documents are available to read on our website www.spelthorne.gov.uk/localplan along with all of the research and evidence documents which supports them. The December edition of the Bulletin, delivered to all households in Spelthorne, will contain a special 8-page section on the Local Plan including detail of the sites with maps.
There will be three public events to provide further information to residents and other interested parties. These will be held at the Council Offices at Knowle Green on:
- Tuesday 12 November at 7pm
- Thursday 14 November at 7pm
- Monday 18 November at 7pm
Please note: The events will require a ticket in order for us to manage attendance, but are free. We are using a website called 'Eventbrite' for ticket bookings which are available to book online now www.spelthorne.gov.uk/localplan or you can ring 01784 446449.
In order to allow the team to answer any questions in full, we are requesting that they are submitted in advance to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You can respond to the consultation online https://consult.spelthorne.gov.uk Paper copies of the documents are available to view at the Council Offices and all libraries in the Borough. The best way to respond is using the website but you can also email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to us: Strategic Planning, Spelthorne Borough Council, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB. Consultation closes at 11.59pm on Tuesday 7 January 2020
Kind regards,
Ann Biggs
Strategic Planning Manager
For more information about how we store and retain your personal data please look at our Strategic Planning privacy notice and Strategic Planning retention schedule on our website.
Fireworks Night at London Irish on 9th November
The following email announcing a fireworks night at the Hazelwood Centre on 9th November has been received by LOSRA:
Dear Neighbour,
We would like to inform you that London Irish Amateur Club are holding a Fireworks Night at Hazelwood on Saturday 9th November. The event will run from 6.00pm to 9.00pm with the display planned to take place at 7.00pm and will last for 10-15 minutes.
We have made the local council, Police and Fires Services aware of the event and the precautions we have taken.
The event is being run by volunteer parents from the Mini and Youth section in order to raise much needed funds for our amateur club. It is aimed at the wider community and the bulk of tickets have been sold to young families from the local area. Parking at Hazelwood is expected to be substantial for the number of people attending as it is highly likely that the majority are local and will walk.
We hope that our event does not cause you inconvenience. If you have any question then please contact us by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Kind Regards
LIARFC Social Committee
P.S. If you would like to attend the event, then tickets can be purchased online at www.LIARFC.co.uk or on the door (depending on availability).
