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.
Thames Street Closure from 28th November
The following self-explanatory email has been received from Surrey Highways Authority:
For your information can I advise of emergency works being carried out by Thames Water on Thames Street, Sunbury on Thames near the junction of The Avenue.
These works are to make repairs to a damaged sewer which is now causing major customer flooding.
Thames Water have requested the duration of works to be from Monday 28th November until Friday 9th December.
The traffic management that will be placed on Thames Street is a road closure. Due to the width of the carriageway, Thames Water will not be able to maintain traffic flows.
We have also requested extended hours of working 07:00 - 19:00.
The buses have been informed of these works.
I hope you find this information useful.
Kind Regards
Natasha Haider
Network Coordinator – Runnymede & Spelthorne
Network Coordination Team
Network and Asset Management Group
Surrey Highways
Festive Jazz Night at the RAC with Ant Law on 11th December
Ant Law’s love of guitar was kick-started by SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughn), bolstered by The Beatles and Stones, then shaped through classic blues, and the stadium rock and virtuosos of the 80s. It’s an unconventional route to jazz, but one that has imbued the composer, touring artist and author’s playing with a rare and captivating feel.
The recent release of his second album, Zero Sum World, confirms Ant Law’s place as one of the most original jazz-guitarists in a generation. Aside from writing, touring and recording with his own group, Law collaborates with a who’s who of the UK contemporary jazz scene and is also a published author.
He will be appearing at the Riverside Arts Centre on Sunday 11th December with Terence Collie, piano; Richard Sadler, bass; Paul Cavaciuti, drums and special guests. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served to complete what should be a very enjoyable festive night out.
The performance starts at 7.30pm. Tickets at £10 may be ordered on line via the website: www.moodindigoevents.co.uk or £12 on the door.
Stay Cab-wise this Christmas
With the party season approaching, Spelthorne Council is warning residents to take care and only use licensed cabs.
Licensed taxi and mini cabs drivers will have undergone a series of background checks. Unlicensed drivers could have criminal records and if you’re involved in an accident in an unlicensed vehicle you might not be covered by insurance. Look for a licence plate or sticker at the back of the vehicle.
Only taxis are allowed to wait at taxi ranks or stop when hailed in the street. Mini cabs must be booked in advance; they are not allowed to pick up unbooked customers. Unlicensed drivers sometimes hang-around busy areas hoping to pick up a customer but they may represent a danger to the public.
These are the Council’s top tips:
- never get in an unlicensed taxi or unbooked mini cab
- if booking a mini cab, check what the fare will be when you make the booking
- ask the driver who they are waiting for when the car arrives
- if you have any problems make a note of the vehicle licence plate number and report it to the Council
Sunday Lunchtime Jazz Comes to Sunbury Cricket Club from 27th November
Those of you who have read the November edition of Sunbury Matters will know that a new dimension to the music scene in Lower Sunbury is being launched on Sunday 27th November with the first Sunday Lunchtime Jazz event at Sunbury Cricket Club, between 1pm and 4pm.
Performing at the inaugural gig are ‘A’ TRAIN, a quartet which features the fine vocalist Debbie Bracknell, who also works in the current incarnation of the British hit-making jazz funk band Shakatak. Also in the band is well-known local bass player Roger Harding, along with pianist Andy Walls and Drummer Alan Cottrell. There is full information about the band at www.atrainband.co.uk.
Tickets are £5.00 on the door (no advance sales), and for those wishing to have lunch, there will be a bistro-style lunch menu available before and during the show. The event is open to non-members, and the organisers are hoping that the presentation of top class accessible mainstream jazz during the winter months will attract sufficient support to make it a regular occasion.
Environment Agency Thames Scheme - Public Consultation and Drop-in sessions
The Environment Agency is holding small-scale residents' ’surgeries’ to update progress on the River Thames Scheme. These surgeries will be on a much smaller scale than previous River Thames Scheme public drop-ins you may have visited in the past. Your local community resilience adviser and one of the engineers working on the design of the scheme will be present.
Residents can come and ask questions, or simply find out the latest information. This includes the options being considered for the route of the flood relief channel in 4 areas of uncertainty: Wraysbury II Lakes, Thorpe Hay Meadow, Sheepwalk and Desborough Cut.
Maps will also be available showing the locations of enhancement opportunities that were suggested at various events. The River Thames Scheme welcome your thoughts and comments on these options and opportunities.
To see the schedule and locations of drop-in sessions click here
Sunbury Health Centre - Changes to Appointments System
Those of us who are patients at the Sunbury Health Centre in Green Street will be fully aware of the difficulty in securing an appointment on the day and may well have resorted to queuing up outside at the crack of dawn.
We heard from Dr Gill at the LoSRA AGM of the many logistical problems they face providing health care services to a patient population of over 18,000 in a building designed to cope with a third of that figure. The annual patient survey confirms the high quality medical care and services provided by the dedicated staff at the Centre but the battle for better facilities will run for some time to come.
In the meantime, the Health Centre staff, supported by the Patient Participation Group (of which LOSRA is an active member), have been working hard to make changes to the appointments system to obviate the need for queuing to get an appointment on the day. The new changes will come into effect from the 28th November and relate to how and when 'on the day' appointments are released for booking.
In essence, on-line booking and automated telephone booking will be available from 6am Monday to Friday and will be the best way to book. Reception will not open until 8am. The changes will be fully detailed on the Health Centre and PPG websites and in leaflets to be made available in the surgery.
More...
Invitation by London Irish to View Proposed 50 Seater Stand in Situ
Readers will remember the article published on this website concerning an application by the London Irish Amateur RFC to install a 50 seater stand at their Hazelwood Grounds (See entry for 30th September). Following objections received by the local planning authority, Mr Richard Ryan (LIARFC) has now written to our Chairman; and the following self-explanatory extract from his email is posted here for the attention of any resident who wishes to accept the invitation described:
"We have become very aware of the level of distrust / misinformation that has built up locally over our planning application for the 50 seater stand. We have taken up an offer to have the stand for a trial period so that people can come and see for themselves what we are trying to achieve. We are hopeful that once people realise the insignificance of its size then some of their fear people are feeling may be alleviated.
"I have written to the planning office to advise him and awaiting his reply. We are aware we do not have planning permission for the stand so hence the trial period. We are also aware that should the Council decline our application the trial period will have to be cut short."
If you wish to be kept updated with regular news bulletins from Hazelwood please contact Sophie Lynch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask to be put on her mailing list.
New Application to Develop Thameside Sports Stadium
Willmott Dixon, the construction company currently contracted by Elmbridge Council to do the remediation works at the sports stadium on the Walton side of the Thames has now submitted a new planning application -this time in their name and not that of Elmbridge Borough Council - which is available to view at www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning Application ref: 2016/3371. Objections to the application may be made by simply going on to the yellow comment bubble.
The proposal is not materially different from the planning application that local 'Save our Thames Side' campaign group has been fighting for the last 4 years and which is currently under judicial review at the High Court.
Objections do not need to involve in-depth analysis but must be confined to planning reasons which, for those of us who live north of the river, would include: building on the green belt; light pollution; noise pollution (especially over water); or environmental damage.
The Dave Kelly Band Makes Welcome Return to Sunbury Cricket Club, 11th November
The next Music Night at the SCC falls on Friday 11th November and it sees the welcome return of The Dave Kelly Band. Dave has been a leading figure of the UK blues scene for 40 years, and is one of the country’s finest slide guitarists. During the ‘60s blues boom he joined The John Dummer Blues Band as vocalist and guitarist alongside his late lamented sister Jo-Ann Kelly, and toured the UK backing John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf, before he and Jo Ann formed Tramp with Tony McPhee. In 1979 he founded The Blues Band with Paul Jones, Hughie Flint & Tom McGuinness, former members of Manfred Mann and McGuinness Flint, and they are still the UK’s top blues attraction.
His own band is quite a family affair, with Pete Emery on lead guitar – husband of Dave’s late sister Jo-Ann, and another Dummer Band veteran – along with Dave’s son Sam Kelly on drums. Sam often deputises for Rob Townsend in the Blues Band. Homer Kelly-Tarrant is on bass guitar – he tours regularly with Dave & Christine Collister. Keyboard player Lou Stonebridge was with Glass Menagerie, Paladin and McGuinness Flint, and produced the first two Blues Band albums.
An evening of absolutely top class blues is guaranteed, and the Club is fortunate to welcome an artist of Dave’s stature to Sunbury once again. For more info and great YouTube videos just Google Dave Kelly.
Please Sign Petition to Save 555 Bus Service
Readers of the Sunbury Facebook page will already be aware of the petition to save this and other Abellio services.
These services include access to Heathrow as well as schools colleges and towns around Surrey, and, critically, St. Peter's Hospital.
You are invited to add your name by the closing date of 7th November by clicking on this link
Autumn Newsletter Now with the Printers
Our Autumn newsletter, currently with the printers, will be distributed to all households during the first couple of weeks in November.
Sunbury Health Centre, Patient Participation Group (PPG) - Open Meeting, 7th November
Sunbury Health Centre's Patient Participation Group (PPG) was established two years ago to represent patients of the Centre, receive input from local people about the Centre's services, and to provide its patients with news and information on what SHC does, and how it is changing.
The PPG works closely in partnership with the Practice to help drive much needed change forward. Open Meetings are held three times a year where all patients are welcome to come along to hear about the many developments and improvements that have been made and understand the challenges facing SHC. It is also an opportunity to voice your views and ideas.
Patients are invited to attend the next open meeting which will take place at the Health Centre from 6.30pm - 7.30pm on Monday 7th November.
Working to Make Surrey Prepared
Would you like to help your home and the community you live in be prepared for anything, from flooding to very cold weather? A new initiative, Surrey Prepared, aims to help people in Surrey do just that by providing the information and resources they need to help make their communities stronger and more resilient.
Unfortunately major incidents can and do happen in Surrey – just two and a half years ago the county experienced such severe flooding that the army was called in to provide support. We’ve seen that communities who come together during incidents are better off, whether from how they dealt with the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease to the way communities respond to large fires.
Surrey County Council has worked with its partners to launch the Surrey Community Resilience Partnership. The partnership will help communities build resilience and protect homes under the Surrey Prepared initiative, with everything from advice on developing a community emergency plan to training, resources to help you prepare for major incidents and even help with getting funding to help make your community more resilient. The aim is to support households and communities to prepare in advance of any incident so they are safer and better informed, as well as encouraging stronger communities all year round.
Click here to find out how you can get involved or follow @SurreyPrepared on Twitter.
AGE UK is Here to Help
A phone call can make so much difference …
By calling 01784 444 200 or visiting our website www.ageukrs.org.uk you can access emotional support and real practical help - some services are free and some paid for.
From information and advice on a range of topics such as benefit payments, to help at home (e.g. handyperson, shopping, cleaning etc.) and companionship (befriending, social activities).
If you live in Runnymede and Spelthorne and are aged 50 and above, contact us.
Whatever your need, we are here to help.
