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.
Music Night at the SCC on 1st July, in aid of British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club falls on Friday 1st July, and it’s a special event at which two of the bands who are close associates of the Club and supply members of our Chain Gang charity collective are putting on their own free entry charity night to raise money for The British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
The two bands are MATRIX and THE MARSHALL TAYLOR BAND – they will play one set each, with both of them drawing their repertoire from across the rock spectrum.
MATRIX comprise Chain Gang regulars Chris Allard (guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Gerry Cook (guitar) and Martin House (bass), plus singer Des Desmond and drummer Alan Hall. THE MARSHALL TAYLOR BAND are Chain Gang members Mark Doyle(guitar) and Phil Miller-Tate (bass) along with Mike Farrell (lead vocals, guitar, Richard Blanford (drums).
It’s free to come in, but we will be requesting donations to the charity either in cash or to a Just Giving page which has been set up at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-watts31
You can make a Just Giving donation at any time, not just at the time of the gig, although there will be a QR code available on the night to access the Just Giving page.
It will be a great evening of top quality rock, so please come along and support the bands by making your donations - the Ukraine emergency may have gone off people’s radar a bit but the crisis deepens by the day, so events like this continue to be hugely important.
Food will be available from 7pm. There will be overflow car parking available in the Paddock area on the other side of the bowls green from the main car park, accessed through a gate further along the river road.
Riverside Players to Put on Thunder Rock at the RAC, 30th June - 2nd July
Robert Ardrey initially conceived of Thunder Rock while on an extended honeymoon on the edge of the North Atlantic, on the island of Nantucket. Across that ocean the European crisis was escalating; the major powers had just signed the Munich Agreement, acceding to Nazi Germany’s annexation of swaths of Czechoslovakia.
To Ardrey the agreement—which would indeed turn out to be a failed gesture of appeasement—was a sure harbinger of war.
Ardrey, who was committed to a socially engaged theater and viewed the looming conflict as a possible social catastrophe of unprecedented dimension, knew he had to write a call to arms to try to rouse the largely isolationist American public to action, but he was at a loss as to how.
Then one day, during a performance of Swan Lake, the play appeared to him.
Trees in The Avenue - Update on Progress
Further to the article published on this site (scroll down to 9th May), the Planning Enforcement Officer at SBC has forwarded the following update:
"I can confirm to date we have had:
- 15 positive responses confirming that missing trees have been replanted.
- 3 negative responses refusing to replant for various reasons
- 180 is the total number of trees protected under TPO30
- 62 trees identified as missing
I will be doing another survey to confirm the above status and will then be following up on those that either have not responded or have refused to replant. I will keep you updated of our progress.
As to enforcement, she continues: "....we prioritise in terms of the harm caused (similar in all these cases) and the likelihood of successful prosecution. I will update you further once we have carried out the survey to confirm."
The 60s All Stars Return to the SCC on Friday 17th June
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday 17th June, when the Club welcomes back The 60s All Stars.
They played at the Club's Christmas bash in December, but it coincided with the outbreak of the Omicron Covid variant, and a lot of people decided not to come, which meant that they only had about 40 people for a show that always gets at least double that. The band asked if they could come back during the summer so they could play to a bigger crowd, and the Club was more than happy to oblige.
THE 60s ALL STARS played at the Club's first ever Music Night back in 2010, and it’s always great to welcome them, as a proper rave-up with a rip-roaring evening of wall-to-wall beat era classics can be guaranteed; and they have always been one of our most popular attractions.
Their line-up for this gig comprises Alan Lovell of The Swinging Blue Jeans on guitar and vocals, guitarist Pete Orr of Voodoo Room (the Hendrix/Clapton/Cream specialists), with Peter Oakman on bass – he’s an original member of Joe Brown & The Bruvvers and co-wrote their No. 1 “Picture Of You” and is now with the Swinging Blue Jeans - and Mick Avory, original long-time drummer with The Kinks.
Put this one in the diary and get a gang of friends together as a great summer party night is in prospect.
Admission is £10.00 on the door, payable by cash or card. Food is available from 7pm.
2022 AGM Newsletter Available to Read Here
The Association's 2022 AGM will be held at the Riverside Arts Centre on Wednesday, 22nd June at 8pm.
Our newsletter which announces a highly topical presentation at the AGM is currently with the printers for distribution to all households.
Appeal for Help with June 4th Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Those who have been following the programme on Facebook or Sunbury Matters will know that a number of exciting events are planned in Lower Sunbury for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on 4th June.
To make a success of the day, the organisers are looking for additional helpers for marshalling and other duties. If you are available to help out please contact Max Hook-Brown on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Many thanks in advance.
More...
Local Plan to go to Public Consultation
"Spelthorne’s Local Plan has been many years in the making, with many bumps along the road. The journey has not just been difficult and challenging, it has gone way beyond that. It has been divisive, bruising and at times unpleasant. It has fractured communities and turned councillors against each other. The reason for the acrimony is easy to discern: the government’s brutal housing targets which eclipse everything else in the Plan-making process." (Cllr. Lawrence Nichols, Leader of the Council).
Last night the Council voted by a sizeable majority for the Local Plan to go forward for public consultation (25 for vs 8 against). It is a great relief because the absence of a Local Plan would create a wild west for developers who would feel free to impose their will on yet more of our precious Green Belt.
The Association is happy to endorse the following comment by the Leader: "It is councillors who are responsible for agreeing the final shape of the Plan, but the massive amount of complex and detailed work has been done by a small group of Council officers. This has taken several years and crossed three political administrations. Our officers have answered hundreds of questions, many of them more than once. The Plan documents have been produced by these officers with great professionalism, considerable hard work and exemplary patience. It is their advice and guidance which will be minutely tested by the Inspector and other interested parties. As councillors we recognise the enormous amount of hard work that the officers have done to get to the Regulation 19 [Public Consultation] stage, and we thank them for their efforts"
Responses to the consultation will be directed to the Planning Inspectorate unfiltered and this website will keep you up-to-date.
Nicolas Meier, Guitarist, joins the Terence Collie Trio on 5th June at the RAC
UK-based guitarist Nicolas Meier has carved a reputation out as one of the world's most original and uniquely talented guitarists.
Drawing from a love of Turkish, Eastern & Middle Eastern music, Flamenco, Tango and more - all mixed with jazz - Meier's versatility and musical fluency extends well beyond that, even. (... so much so, that his considerable talents drew the attention of rock guitar legend, Jeff Beck, who made Nicolas a mainstay in The Jeff Beck Group - carrying him on two world tours during the course of the last several years.)
Nicolas joins the Terence Collie trio at the Riverside Arts Centre, Thames Street at 8pm on Sunday 5th June.
Code of conduct for dog owners
New signage will be installed in Council owned parks and open spaces to inform dog owners of the expanded Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) regulations.
The existing PSPO has had additions that require dog owners to carry suitable means for collecting any dog faeces, restrictions on the number of dogs that professional dog walkers can control at any given time, and a condition that a dog must be placed on a lead in a public area if required to do so by an authorised officer, police officer or PCSO. Dogs must also be on leads at all times in the Borough Cemeteries, some Council car parks as well as the leisure centre car parks.
To see the Council's notice, click here
The Avenue - What's in a Name?
An Avenue is defined as "a broad road in a town or city, typically having trees at regular intervals along its sides" The Avenue in Lower Sunbury is arguably the most iconic residential thoroughfare in the Borough largely due to the linear form of mature horse chestnut trees which both pre-date and have framed the detached houses for generations.
Indeed, we were inspired to adopt the horse chestnut tree as our emblematic logo at the Association's inception 50 years ago.
In recent years, whether through disease, the need to provide more parking spaces or, more sadly, for reasons of capricious fancy, many of these protected trees have been felled, unlawfully in some cases. (In January Spelthorne Borough Council successfully prosecuted a man for the breach of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) for cutting the roots of a Horse Chestnut Tree in The Avenue without the authority of the Council).
Early last year, following receipt of a number of complaints, the Council enforcement officer carried out a tree survey of The Avenue to identify all the protected trees that have either died or have been removed with or without approval but not replaced. The aim of this survey was to encourage as many owners as possible to replace the trees with a whitebeam (sorbus aria) as recommended by the Tree Officer.
A letter was sent out to all the addresses identified on The Avenue specifying the replacement tree and a deadline by the planning office of 31 March 2022 was given. The response has been mixed. Some owners were delighted with this initiative and have already planted the replacement tree; others have refused for various reasons and some have simply ignored the letter.
Now that the deadline has passed the Enforcement Officer will be carrying out a survey to identify those that have not complied.
This may then progress to enforcement action such as prosecution.
It would be a great pity if it had to come to this. Householders in The Avenue may be the owners of the land on which the trees are situated but are the custodians of these precious assets for present and future generations.
Jump 66 Returns to the SCC on Friday 20th May
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday 20th May and features JUMP 66, who played their first gig at the Club back in 2019, and this is the first chance we’ve had to get them back. They are one of the busiest and most popular bands on the circuit, playing a fiery and infectious mix of raucous R'n'B and swinging Jump Blues, with a touch of skanking 1950s Rocksteady.
They have honed their high energy show over the last decade, playing at the Glastonbury Festival in 2014, and are regulars at the Ealing Blues Festival, headlining the main stage in 2018, and the Swanage Blues Festival. They’re a resident band at Soho’s Ain’t Nothing But The Blues Bar, and have been regulars at the RamJam in Kingston and the Crawdaddy, so are equally at home in clubs or on the festival stage.
Boasting a highly credible musical pedigree, they’re an archetypal Music Night attraction, and we can guarantee a fine evening of house-rocking roof-raising entertainment. Take a look at their web site at www.jump66blues.com, where there’s more info, music clips, photos and a list of dates that shows both the frequency and the quality of their gigs.
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 redistribution organisation Surplus To Supper, will be available from 7pm.
Supporting Ukrainian refugees
The generosity of spirit Spelthorne residents have shown in times of difficulty continues to amaze the Council with 32 households offering up their homes to a potential 81 Ukrainian refugees as part of the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Celebrating the Life of the Late Matt Dibble on 15th May at the RAC
Matt Dibble, the renowned composer, saxophonist and clarinetist died in May, 2021, aged 40, from a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after receiving the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
The concert at the Riverside Arts Centre will be a tribute to him and to his music.It will feature friends and fellow musicians.
For full line-up, venue and time, click here
London Irish Mini Festival, Sunday 24th April
After a two year hiatus the Amateur London Irish Mini Festival will once again be staged this coming Sunday, 24th April. In previous years, the inconsiderate parking by visiting parents has caused problems in nearby roads, often preventing residents from leaving or entering their driveways.
As in previous years, and for what it's worth, the Club has written to all competing clubs asking that they comply with the arrangements for parking which are as follows:
Car Parking
"No parking will be available at the London Irish Hazelwood ground. Kempton Park will provide all Festival parking. The designated entrance is the main entrance on Staines Road East. Marshals will be on hand to collect monies and direct you to overflow parking facilities if required. In addition they will direct you to buses which will transfer you to the Hazelwood ground which is a ten-minute bus ride from Kempton Park.
"Buses will carry shelters and kit.
"Out of consideration to residents in the immediate area please do NOT park in adjacent roads. A number of adjacent roads are too narrow to allow residents to park on, or leave, their houses because turning out of, or into, private drives becomes impossible if festival attendees park on the street.
"The police are likely to remove any cars that cause an obstruction for emergency vehicles or are blocking residents’ driveways".
It is hoped to have a number of signs (illustrated) available on the day.
