Welcome to the LOSRA Website
Like any local community, the policies and decisions shaping the character and future of Lower Sunbury are influenced by a combination of local and national government initiatives, alongside market forces and vested interests operating within these frameworks. As with many areas, Lower Sunbury faces challenges stemming from an aging infrastructure, rapid urban development, increasing traffic congestion, and other pressures that impact both quality of life and the distinctive character of the neighbourhood.
In collaboration with local authorities, other residents’ associations and amenity groups, LOSRA plays a vital role in addressing fundamental issues that affect its members' lives. This organisation not only engages with broader strategic concerns but also focuses on the everyday matters that shape community well-being.
To stay informed, we encourage you to subscribe to our regular e-bulletins via the link at the top left of this page. Your continued support is essential to our efforts, and we urge you to join or renew your membership. Subscriptions for 2026 are now payable at £5 per household. Donations are also welcome.
Bookings Now Being Taken for Amy's View at the Riverside Arts Centre, 2nd - 4th April
A deeply affecting play, with great one-liners and entertaining writing about the nature of reality.
In 1979 Esme is a middle-aged West End actress, and a successful one, although life is becoming increasingly difficult for those making a living on the stage. Despite the early death of her husband, life is sweet and she can rely on her own self-mocking wit and the devotion of her grown up daughter, Amy.
Esme is sufficiently financially privileged that she can write a cheque for £5,000 for Amy, pregnant by Dominic, a chippy, penniless would-be film-maker who thinks theatre is dead. The play follows the family over 16 years - a period in which a lot can change.
Amy's View mixes love, death and the theatre over the course of 16 years, in a way which is both heady and original. It is another great example of the cultural and political commentary David Hare is known for. Amy's View was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in June 1997, and transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in January 1998.
You can book your tickets now, details on the poster here
Putting Community Safety First - Consultation
Spelthorne Borough Council is launching a consultation for residents on Monday 9 March in order to find out how they feel about the work being undertaken by Surrey Police, Spelthorne's Community Safety Partnership and other local agencies to tackle crime and disorder.
Capture Spelthorne - Spelthorne Borough Council's Photography Competition, Is Now Open
The Council is offering a great opportunity for you to embrace the outdoors, explore our beautiful Borough and exhibit your photography skills.
The overall winner will see their photo as the cover for the Council's summer edition of the Bulletin Magazine and across their social media pages.
You don't need an expensive camera to take part, any camera or smartphone will do, as long as the photograph was taken in Spelthorne within the last two years and is submitted by the closing date for entries, 30th April 2020.
Annual Music Night at the SCC on Friday 13th March in Support of Mayor's Charities
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is a special event, as the Club features its all-star house band THE CHAIN GANG performing in aid of the Mayor of Spelthorne’s Charities.
It’s become something of a tradition that the Club devotes one of its Music Nights to such an event every year, and they have proved extremely successful evenings, so they are delighted to be able to repeat the exercise this year. This year’s Mayor of Spelthorne is Cllr. Mary Madams, a Laleham & Shepperton Green councillor, who visited the Club for this year’s MCC lunch in Cricket Week. Once again the Club has assembled the usual suspects from the great and good of the local music fraternity who are regulars at the Club in a dozen-strong band to play under the name of The Chain Gang in honour of the Mayor’s chain of office.
The Mayor’s charities are Midas Plus, a local registered charity based in Staines-upon-Thames, run to help local people in need, raising and distributing funds for community groups and individuals (mainly in Spelthorne) who have nowhere else to turn, and Eikon: an award-winning charity which provides long-term support to some of the county's most vulnerable young people, with a vision is to develop happy, thriving and resilient young adults who make a positive contribution to society.
The musicians will be giving their services free, so all the door money will go to the charities, and there will also be a raffle. It will be a great night of top-class rock ‘n’ roll, blues, ‘60s R&B, rock and country. It’s all for a great cause and will be a fun community night, so it's hoped to see you there.
Please note that as guests of the Mayor will be coming from different parts of Surrey, the start of this show will be a bit earlier than usual, and the band will be on stage at 8.30pm. Food will be available as usual. It’s £10.00 on the door and doors open at 7pm.
Please also note that because repair work is being done to the area of car park adjoining the Clubhouse on the following day, Sat. 14th, that strip will be coned off to ensure it can be kept clear for the morning. It will be used during the evening for staff, the Mayor and her guests, and band members.
Green Belt defence fund announced at Council budget
The following Press Release from the Council has been received by LOSRA and we reproduce it here:
Spelthorne Borough Council has announced that it will be setting aside a special defence fund of £900,000 to enable it to challenge applications from developers wanting to build in the Green Belt.
The Council has always been fiercely protective of the Borough’s Green Belt and is known for taking a stance against aggressive developers looking to build on green spaces. As the planning process currently stands, whilst Spelthorne rules on Planning applications and can refuse those which affect the Green Belt, developers can appeal to the Planning Inspector. Fighting these appeals is not only lengthy, they can also be very expensive.
Thanks to the success of the Council’s investment strategy over the last four years, Spelthorne Borough Council is now in a stronger financial position and has generated a significant budget surplus which has enabled this defence fund to be established.
Leader of the Council, for the past four years, Cllr Ian Harvey said; “Pressing demands on our local authority budgets could lead to the question, where should parks and green spaces stand in the pecking order of priorities for this authority? We recognise how much green spaces contribute to the health and wellbeing of our community and the Council is determined to do everything it can to preserve parks and highly performing green belt areas open for future generations. Whilst we can’t stop developers from submitting applications, this fund will enable us to obtain the necessary advice and expertise to fight our case and give us the best chance of protecting our Green Belt for the future generations”.
You can view and respond to a planning applications on our Council Portal; here
To be emailed directly on any applications in your area, sign up to My Alerts here
Louise King
PR & Communications Officer
A Tribute to Michel Petrucciani Featuring Tommaso Starace at the RAC on 8th March
Born in 1975 in Milan, Tommaso started playing the saxophone and studying music at the age of 18. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1994 where he graduated at Birmingham Conservatoire with a Bmus first class honours and later at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama with a Postgraduate Degree in jazz studies in the year 2000.
He has performed with some of the most respected jazz musicians including Billy Cobham, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Jim Mullen, Jonathan Gee, Paolo Pellegatti, Gianni Giudici. In the year 2004 he collaborated with award winning oscar film composer Dario Marianelli ('Pride and Prejudice' and 'The Atonement') recording music for 'This Little Life', a BBC drama for Channel Four.
In 2008 Tommaso was awarded with an Honorary Membership by Birmingham Conservatoire given to him for his significant contributions made across the years within the various branches of the music profession.
He will be joined by the Terence Collie Trio at the Riverside Arts Centre on Sunday, 8th March at 7.45pm.
More...
LOSRA Spring 2020 Newsletter
Our Spring Newsletter is currently at the printers and will shortly be distributed to all households in the Lower Sunbury area.
We face challenging times ahead and foremost of our concerns relate to the revision of the Local Plan and the possible cost implications of instructing counsel. It is for this reason, now that we are three months into our membership year, that we urge you to take this opportunity to join or renew your membership if you have not already done so. You can do this via the Home Page of the website or by completing the tear-off slip at the bottom of the newsletter by printing it off or on delivery of your hard copy.
Needless to say, donations are also welcome! All Committee members give their time completely free of any charge so you can be sure that all monies received will be spent in pursuing the aims and objectives of our Association including the protection of our Green Belt.
The Spelthorne Business Plan Competition
The following notice has been published by Spelthorne Borough Council and we are pleased to reproduce it here:
Spelthorne is a hub of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit with residents, keen to carve their own niche in the business world, creating many small companies each year.
Celebrating this wealth of talent and creativity in Spelthorne is Kwasi Kwarteng MP, who is pleased to announce that his initiative to inspire and support Spelthorne residents in starting their own business will officially open again for entries in February 2020.
The Spelthorne Business Plan Competition in partnership with Spelthorne Borough Council will open for entries for the seventh year. This is an opportunity for another Spelthorne resident to be given the chance to make their dream a reality and launch their business. The winner will receive a prize of £3,500 plus mentoring support from local experts to launch their business.
The application process is a simple entry form and then the six best entries will be asked to present their business idea to panel of expert judges at a Dragons Den style final hosted at BP on 11 June 2020.
Each finalist will be given training to perfect their pitch and prepare for the final.
Entries are welcome from individuals or teams of up to four people with at least one being a resident of the Borough. To enter visit www.spelthorne.gov.uk/businesscomp or search @Spelthorne Business Plan Competition on Facebook. The competition is open to Spelthorne residents aged 16 and over.
Applications must be received by Sunday 12 April 2020.
If you would like more information or need help with the application process please email Tracey Carter at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Skeleton Crew Come to SCC on Friday 7th January
The next Music Night falls on Friday 7th February when Sunbury Cricket Club welcomes back SKELETON CREW, whose last two Cricket Club shows have been at their first two Beer Festivals, and it’s a while since they did their last Friday night gig, so it’s great to have them back.
They are led by Paul King, on guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and squeezebox, an original member of Mungo Jerry, who was voted the Evening Standard pub entertainer of the year several years in a row, and was a founder member of the King Earl Boogie Band.
With him on bass is Colin Pattenden, original member of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in their hit-making days, and now also with Jackie Lynton and the Nashville Teens, plus Chris Bryant on guitar, along with their young drummer/percussionist and cajon player Amber Hough.
Also appearing will be various volunteers wielding the zob sticks! It will be a rollicking evening featuring their distinctive brand of jug band music, blues, skiffle and rock. There’s more info paulking.info/music/
Julian Costello in Tribute to John Coltrane at the RAC, 2nd February
Julian Costello is a London-based musician, composer and teacher. He got a scholarship from Trinity College of Music where he took a Postgraduate Certificate of Performance in the Saxophone.
Julian writes the music for the Julian Costello Quartet, plays in a number of jazz big Bands, in a vocal/cello and guitar trio called Perhaps Trio and in a world music trio called Vertigo with Tabla/Percussion, Oud/Guitar and Soprano Saxophone. He tours constantly throughout Europe.
He will be appearing with the Terence Collie Trio at the Riverside Arts Centre on Sunday 2nd February at 7.45pm.
For booking details, click here
New Monthly Jazz Jam Sessions at the RAC Commences Tuesday 4th February
The sessions will be held at The Riverside Arts Centre between 7.45 and 10pm. No age limit.
For further details click here
Survey on Current Use of Youth Centres in Surrey
The following survey is designed to obtain your views about your current use of Youth Centres in Surrey, and Surrey County Council’s proposed plans to change the way Universal Youth Work is delivered in Surrey.
"Organ Lollipops" - an evening with David Saint. on 15th February, 7.30pm at St Mary's Church, Sunbury
David is well known in the world of Organists. A former Trustee and past Chair of the Royal College of Organists, he was awarded FRCO, FRCM & FRBC (Fellowship of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) and is currently Chair of the Incorporated Association of Organists (IAO). His recital venues include Europe, Korea and various English Cathedrals. He has been Organist and Director of Music at St Chad's Cathedral and until 2015, he was principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The evening will start with a short talk by David followed by a programme to suit all tastes, including works by Albinoni, Walton, Handel, Bach, Elgar and Walond to name but a few. There will be an interval with light refreshments. Tickets are £10 (£9 for members of FoSM) and £5 for students.
For further information and/or tickets please 'phone 01932785035 /01932 785807
Also see: fosmsunbury.org.uk or Dennis Van Wonderen, the florist on Avenue Parade.
Bring a friend and we look forward to seeing you there!
15th February, 7.30pm at St Mary's Church, Sunbury TW16 6RG
(Parking available in Parish Hall car park, Green Street. 235 & 216 buses stop outside Church).
LOSRA Response to Local Plan Consultation
LoSRA has now submitted its response to the Spelthorne Borough Council’s consultation on the New Local Plan. The Preferred Option in the Plan proposes the release of a significant amount of Green Belt land for development to achieve its allocated target of new homes.
LoSRA remains opposed to such development and the precedent it could set against the Government’s own definition that “the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and permanence”.
Four parcels of Green Belt land have been identified for allocation in the Lower Sunbury area. LoSRA’s comments on these in its response to the Local Plan are focused on the largest of these proposed sites, namely that adjacent to Stratton Road, but similar arguments apply to all Green Belt sites proposed for allocation.
Having studied in detail the reasons for allocating this site, LoSRA believes that the consultant’s judgements made in the two Green Belt Assessment Reports were flawed. The Stratton Road site was originally part of a larger area of Green Belt rightly assessed as being “strongly performing” but was selectively downgraded when that larger area was subsequently sub-divided. LoSRA does not support that downgrading and believes that the Stratton Road site does and should continue to play its vital Green Belt role in helping to maintain separation and preventing urban sprawl. It also notes that any development of the proposed Stratton Road site would face considerable challenges due to the lack of supporting infrastructures.
Furthermore, LoSRA supports Spelthorne Council’s challenge to the Government to reconsider the high number of new houses it is required to see built in the borough as part of its new Local Plan.
