To listen, please go to YouTube.com on Tuesday evening and type "spelthorne overview scrutiny" into the search bar at the top. The 19 Jan meeting should appear.

To see our Chairman's submission to the Committee, click here

The story so far has been described by earlier entries on this site dated 17th June, 22nd June and 17th August.

There will be a Mobile Testing Centre at Green Street Car ParkSunbury Park on the following dates:

Sunday 17 January to Tuesday 19 January

No vehicle access to the carpark will be available during this time.

Anyone with Coronavirus symptoms should self-isolate and get tested now, so we can control the virus and protect each other.

The symptoms of Coronavirus are:

• a high temperature
• a new continuous cough
• or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

Anyone who has symptoms can book a test by visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus or call NHS on 119 to get a test.

The Council will be operating free Christmas tree collections from 11-15 January 2021.

Simply remove the base and decorations and leave your tree out with your bins on your usual collection day.

Now that there is no overall majority at the Council it is perhaps inevitable that their model of governance is to be revisited. Residents are invited to participate by completing a simple questionnaire by 14th January at www.spelthorne.gov.uk/currentconsultations

What is a governance model?

A governance model determines how an authority is run. There are three models of local government:

Leader and Cabinet - Spelthorne currently uses this model. This is also the system used in national governance.

Directly elected Mayor and Cabinet - This is the model used in London where the directly elected Mayor forms their cabinet and makes decisions for the area.

Committee System - This is the proposed system for Spelthorne and is used in other local authorities, for instance Maidstone.

Why is it important?

A good governance model provides:

• Accountability- responsibilities and accountability about who does what should be clear, within the Council and to residents
• Credibility - governance should assist good decision making, which involves proper and early scrutiny of policies and proposals
• Transparency - the decision-making process should be open and transparent to councillors,  officers and to the public
• Collaboration - decision making should be collaborative across parties and less combative
• Timeliness - decision making should be both quick and effective and, when necessary, allow for urgent decision-making

What is the Council's current model?

Spelthorne Borough Council operates what is known as the Cabinet model of governance. This means that apart from the decisions which legally have to be taken by the Council and are delegated to officers, all other executive decisions are taken by the Cabinet which is made up of between 7-9 councillors selected by the Leader.

What will moving to a Committee model mean?

Under this system councils are divided into politically balanced committees that make the decisions. As such, these councils are not required to have an overview and scrutiny committee, though some do have one or more.

When the consultation closes, the Council will collate all our responses and comments and will take these into account as they further consider, develop and refine the proposed changes.  There will be an update at the Council Meeting in February and this will confirm whether an extraordinary Council Meeting should be held in March to finalise and agree the proposed changes.

The Covid -19 vaccination programme has started and, on the basis of vulnerability, the over 8o’s and over 70’s have priority. Many do not drive and cannot use public transport so it is difficult to get out and about, particularly in January, February and March.

Sunbury Neighbours is a local voluntary group of drivers who take older people and anyone who finds it difficult to get around to appointments at local surgeries and hospitals. Over the coming months, Sunbury Neighbours will be helping those who have priority by driving them to vaccination appointments if they need transport.

If you would like to support the vaccination programme and could spare some time to drive older people to a vaccination centre and then take them home, we would love you to join us. If we contact you with a request and you can’t help, it is fine to say “no”. 

The more people who sign up, the more likely it is that we will be able to help someone in our community with a very practical transport problem. And don’t worry, we will not sign you up for evermore – although you would be very welcome to join us! This is a time limited initiative that we are setting up to help in response to the current crisis and the need to ensure that the vaccination programme is successful.

If you would like to help or would like to find out more please contact Sunbury Neighbours on 07956822546.

Surrey County Council is giving local communities up to £100m over the next five years to spend on projects that improve their local area. A footbridge between Sunbury and Walton has been proposed to be considered for some of this funding.

LOSRA has shown this project has enormous local support. See the banner at the top of the homepage.

Please show your support by voting for this proposal.

Go to following website to vote:

https://yourfundsurreymap.commonplace.is/comments/5fcb90d4d6792d2bf9d72a75

Alternatively, scan the QR code below (simply aim your phone’s camera at square code). Scroll to bottom of page and click AGREE.

The council will take these votes of approval into account when deciding where to spend the money, so every vote counts!

Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, band-leader and touring soloist. He is best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone sax, where he combines a formidable virtuosity with a musical expression and collaborative spirit that have few peers.

He joins the Terry Collie trio at the Riverside Arts Centre on 20th December at what promises to be a great night out and which will include mince pies and mulled wine for all!

To see full booking details, click here

Judging by the many posts on social media we are aware that many local people have been affected by the smell, noise and light pollution from the gasifier (euphemism for incinerator) at the Eco Park in Charlton Lane.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge, introduced by the Planning Act 2008, as a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of their area. It came into force on 6 April 2010 through the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010. The Levy is designed to help fund the infrastructure, facilities and services - such as schools or transport improvements (eg, dare we ask, a cycle/footbridge across the Thames at Sunbury?) needed to support new homes and businesses.

It is our understanding that the CIL fund for Spelthorne currently exceeds £5m and is supposed to be under the control, or at least be monitored by, the Surrey/Spelthorne Joint Committee. Our Chairman, Paul Thompson and Tom Fidler, local Councillor and a member of the JC, have asked a number of questions about CIL but have not yet received any useful answers, beyond establishing that any allocation would go on behind closed doors.

We accept that the Covid pandemic has been immensely disruptive to the Council's order of business but will nevertheless continue to press for answers as and when circumstances allow.

In case you have not yet had your copy of the Winter Bulletin from Spelthorne Council, please click here to see the rubbish and recycling dates over the Christmas period.