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 2023 are now payable.
Spelthorne Council Reports a Sustainable Balanced Budget
At a meeting of full Council on 23 February 2023, Councillors agreed a revenue budget and capital programme for the coming financial year.
For further details, click here
Voter ID Roadshows
Spelthorne will be holding events in the Borough to help residents apply for their free Voter Authority Certificate (Voter ID) if needed.
The following notice has been issued by the Council
Development Application at Hazelwood Drive, Ref: 23/00070/FUL
Under the emerging Local Plan the Site on Hazelwood Drive is proposed for removal from the Green Belt and identified as suitable for residential development.
The draft allocation is for approximately 67 residential units (a figure confirmed in the application) and should deliver the dwellings between years 1-5. The Council is therefore reliant on the site being delivered to meet its housing requirement.
Paragraph 48 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) outlines that great weight can be applied to policies where the Council is at an advanced stage in the local plan process.
Given that the Council have published the Pre-Submission version of the Local Plan and this was submitted for Examination in November 2022, weight can be applied to the Site’s draft allocation which identifies this Site for release form the Green Belt to deliver new housing.
For further information and to make representations, click here, quoting application number 23/00070/FUL
Potholes a Real Problem - Please Report
The curse of potholes for cyclists and motorists seems to be particularly bad this year.
Beyond grumbling about them, please be sure to send specific details to Surrey County Council who have been very efficient in attending to repairs once reported.
Go to: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/
Eco Park Stays in Operation Until 2029
Following resolution of a legal dispute which saw both parties entering into a Settlement Agreement, the County Council’s current waste contractor, SUEZ, will continue to operate the Eco Park in Spelthorne and run a number of waste disposal services across the county until 2029.
Saxophonist, Jo Fooks Joins Terence Collie Trio at the RAC on 5th March
Jo Fooks, born in Edinburgh, began learning the saxophone at 15. In 1992 she won 'The Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year'. Inspired and encouraged by local Edinburgh musicians, Jo went on to study saxophone at the Guildhall School of music in London (1995-99).
She also studied at the Berklee School of music in Boston after receiving a full fee scholarship for the summer jazz programme.
After recording her debut album "Here and Now!", the legendary British trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton invited her to join his eight-piece band. With whom she toured and performed in some of the most amazing theatres and venues in Britain. Humph's fun filled and melodic approach to music was to be a huge influence. And through performing in his band Jo also recorded and worked with Acker Bilk and played alongside Tina May, Joe Temperley, Scott Hamilton, Elkie Brooks,and many others.
Jo's other influences include Illinois Jacquet, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gorden, Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans. Her mellow tone is often compared to Stan Getz and Zoot Simms.
Jo began to compose her own music in 2004 after learning and analysing a wide variety of Jazz standards. She currently gigs in and around the London area and her teaching positions have included tutoring the RAF bands men (2000-2006).
More...
A performance of the FOUR QUARTETS by T.S. ELIOT at St. Mary's Church, 2nd March, 7pm
This will be a dramatic reading of the poetry by six voices, plus piano and flute. The music will include short extracts from Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Debussy on the piano, and short improvised and original interludes on the flute.
The Four Quartets has been arranged and directed by Rev. Canon Robin Morrison, who is himself a published author and poet.
TS Eliot received the Nobel Prize for poetry in 1948 and it has been said that the Quartets may well include the most profound poetry of the 20 th century.
Peter Ackroyd CBE, FRSL biographer, novelist and cultural critic wrote, "The Four Quartets are poems about a nation and about a culture which is very severely under threat, and in a sense, you could describe them as a poem of memory, but not the memory of one individual but the memory of a whole civilization."
Tickets are £10 and all proceeds will go to the St Saviour’s Community Food Bank. We look forward to seeing you.
This reading is by kind permission of the TS Eliot Estate, via Faber & Faber Limite.
Ticket bookings at www.stmarys-sunbury.org/eliot or by ringing 01932 785448 Tues-Thurs 10.00am – 2.00pm
Robin Bibi Band to Debut at SCC on 10th February
The next Music Night at Sunbury CC is on Friday 10th February, when the Club welcomes THE ROBIN BIBI BAND for the first time, although Robin has played here several times with other bands, most notably The ‘60s All Stars.
Robin is one of the UK’s most respected blues/rock performers, and something of a legend on the club and festival circuit, as a guitarist/singer/songwriter who has played with the likes of The Pretty Things, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and Ben E. King, and has shared the bill with B.B. King, Van Morrison and Chuck Berry. He has released a dozen critically acclaimed albums since 1997, and plays with his band all over Europe, as well as also performing as a member of The ‘60s All Stars and The Eel Pie All Stars.
He is joined for this gig by Tony Marten, formerly with George Michael, on bass, and drummer Wez Johnson, a colleague of contemporary US blues rockers Kirk Fletcher and Ariel Posen. We can guarantee that it will be a top class night of blues/rock in the classic tradition of Sunbury Music Nights.
There’s more information at https://robinbibiband.co.uk/, including links to some great videos on YouTube.
Admission is £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 from 7pm.
Corporate Peer Challenge
At the end of November, Spelthorne Borough Council invited a team of senior officers and councillors to undertake a comprehensive Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge. The team conducted more than 40 meetings involving over 125 people, including a range of Council employees and councillors as well as external stakeholders and partners.
Whilst containing some positive elements it will make uncomfortable reading for some.
Guitarist, Alban Claret Joins the Terence Collie Trio at the RAC on 5th Feb
Alban Claret was born in Perpignan (France) in 1987. He took his first guitar lessons at eight years old and discovered his passion and dedication for music making as a teenager which later made him study intensively.
In 2004, he was accepted as a student of the Musicology Faculty at the Conservatoire of Montpellier to broaden his knowledge about music styles. He also studied at the Jazz department of the Conservatoire of Perpignan with the brilliant French Jazz Guitarist Serge Lazarevitch. During this period Alban composed his first music and led several bands and played his first concerts.
Upon his arrival in the Netherlands in 2008, he was accepted in the Jazz department at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and cooperated with musicians like John Ruocco and Eric Ineke also studying with Martijn van Iterson.
In 2017, Alban decided to move to London and settle as a full time musician and since performed in numerous Jazz clubs in London and the UK.
Spelthorne residents need photo ID to vote at elections in May
Residents are being urged to make sure they are ready to vote in May by checking they have an accepted form of ID.
For further details click here
London Irish Mini Rugby Parking Difficulties
London Irish Mini Rugby organiser has notified the Association that a number of busy weekends are coming up which will result in higher than usual on-street parking whilst the Club is experiencing difficulties with its overflow car park.
How residents can be prepared for emergencies
Spelthorne Council has produced a document residents can download to ensure they are appropriately prepared in the event of an emergency:
There is a range of compost bins available all with a third off the normal price
Surrey residents can now buy a range of reduced-price compost bins, hot composters, food waste digesters and other composting products courtesy of a subsidy provided by the Surrey Environment Partnership.
There are a range of compost bins available all with a third off the normal price. You can use them to compost all your garden waste, and even some food waste such as vegetable peelings, eggshells and coffee grounds. If you would like a product that can take all your food and garden waste, then you can buy the Green Johanna hot composter for just £74.99 (reduced from £129.99).
As well as making a saving yourself, you will be helping your local council save money. When residents compost their food and garden waste at home, money that would usually be spent running that service can be spent on other essential services across Surrey. Composting is also the most environmentally friendly method of disposing of your food and garden waste, helping you to do your bit for the planet.
To buy a discounted compost bin, visit the compost bin sale section of the SEP website now.
