The following email has been received from Paul Fishwick, who heads up Surrey's Local Enterprise Partnership:

"The County Council is currently assessing potential Expressions of Interest to the Growth Deal 3 funding recently announced by the Government.

"The Lower Sunbury Residents' Association proposal for a cycle/footbridge over the River Thames is being considered with other projects in this latest round of funding. However, any project that makes the 'short-list' for an Expression of Interest must meet the criteria objectives of the fund, which includes a) within a Growth Town area, b) growth in jobs, c) growth in housing, growth in floor space, d) delivery within the financial period 2018/19-2021/22 e) 'match-funding' (currently 25%) f) fit with Local Plan/borough priorities.

"An evaluation of potential projects for the Expressions of Interest will now take place early in the New Year and I will write to you again when I have further information."

This page will be updated just as soon as Mr Fishwick writes back to us.

Once again, on Friday 8th January the SCC welcomes back The Nashville Teens to kick off the New Year in style with their trademark brand of hard-hitting 60s R&B, featuring, of course, their two memorable 1964 Top Ten hits with “Tobacco Road” and “Google Eye - their epic version of “Tobacco Road” is always a worthy highlight of the show.

The line-up features their original lead singer Ray Phillips, who has had an unbroken half-century career with the band, as well as making solo records and performing with other line-ups like the British Invasion All-Stars with members of The Yardbirds, Creation and Downliners Sect.  With him in the current Nashville Teens is an array of seasoned performers, including Colin Pattenden, member of Manfred Mann’s Earth band when they had their big hits back in the 70s, on bass, with Simon Spratley of The Ian Campbell Blues Band on keyboards, Ken Osborn from Levee Camp Moan on guitar and Adrian ‘Spud’ Metcalf on drums.

It will be another rousing night of to get the new season of Music Nights under way, featuring in Ray one of the great voices of the beat era.

The Chairman and LOSRA Committee wish all our readers a happy, prosperous and healthy New Year.

The Winter edition of the Council bulletin recently posted through our letter boxes is silent on one of the most significant events likely to affect all residents throughout the Borough during 2016: the revision of the Local Plan which sets out how much development should be allowed in Spelthorne.The review will have to balance the need for new homes and jobs against the ability to accommodate development, taking into account issues such as Green Belt, flood risk and infrastructure. At the end of the review the Council will put forward to an independent planning inspector how much development it thinks it can meet.

The review is one of the most important and contentious subjects facing the residents of Spelthorne over coming years, and it is essential that the local authority takes all proper steps to engage with residents on the issue; and give them a realistic and practical opportunity to contribute to the debate and the process surrounding it. The imperative for community involvement is all the more critical as the process will require a review of our green belt, the protection of which has recently been weakened by central government.

To press for the preservation of Green Belt and public open spaces; and working to protect the local environment is one of LOSRA's key aims and we need your invaluable support for this to continue. Please take this opportunity to renew your £5 subscription for 2016 or, if you are not currently a member, please join us.

A free event for children and families

This Christmas, Staines-upon-Thames will be welcoming some interesting visitors. Children are invited to take part in a fun and festive interactive walk where they will be introduced to funny Christmas characters and be asked to solve riddles along the route.

The event is being organised to launch Spelthorne Council’s Art Walk leaflet which gives a route and information for viewing the public art and heritage sculptures in Staines-upon-Thames town centre.

The Art Walk leaflet will be available to download from Spelthorne Council’s website or you can pick one up from your local library or the Council Offices in Knowle Green. 

Date: Tuesday 22 December

Times: 11am and 2pm, walks last roughly 1 hour

Meeting place: Memorial Gardens, Thames Street, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 4RH

Children are encouraged to come in fancy dress and Santa will have a special prize for the child who appears most festive! To purchase a Santa suit for £3 (cash only) come to the reception area at the Council Offices any week day between 10am and 4pm (limited stock available).

For more information please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01784 446433.

Spelthorne Council is offering a free kerbside collection of real Christmas trees from 4 - 29 January 2016.

The Council is not operating a booking system this year – simply leave your tree on your property boundary by 6am on your rubbish or recycling collection day.

Trees should not be decorated or left in pots or stands.

Alternatively from 4 – 29 January 2016 you can take your real tree to one of the following drop-off points:-

• Fordbridge Park, Ashford
• Manor Park, Shepperton
• Old Bathing Station, Fordbridge Road, Sunbury-on-Thames

Info: For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01784 446411.

Following the public consultation which began in May 2015, Fairview have now submitted a planning application to Spelthorne Borough Council which was validated on Thursday 3rd December (reference number: 15/01599/FUL).

The plans remain largely unchanged to those presented at the public exhibition on 22nd September, except that, following a final pre-application meeting with the Council on 12th November, the internal configuration of the apartment building has been amended resulting in an increase to the overall unit numbers from 32 to 33. This has not contributed to any external visual change to that presented during the public consultation.

Planning Officers have advised Fairview that consultation letters will be distributed to residents within the coming days, and that the 21 day statutory consultation period will be extended to 28 days, to account for the Christmas break.

Fairview intends to conduct a further door-to-door canvass of neighbouring properties next week, to ensure that residents are aware of the application being submitted and know how to submit their comments.

All plans and visuals are available online at www.FairviewPageAerospace.co.uk

This policy is for patients and the public, and for NHS England staff. It sets out the NHS ambition of strengthening participation in all its work and how it intends to achieve this.

To view, click here

All the evidence shows that the majority of dog owners in Lower Sunbury are responsible people who take care to clear up after their dogs. Nevertheless, for the small minority who tarnish the reputation of the majority, this notice from our local Council will be of interest:

"Spelthorne Council has joined forces with environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy in a bid to reduce dog fouling in the Borough.

"The ‘We’re Watching You’ campaign sets its sights on irresponsible dog owners, with recent research showing that dog fouling tends to be worse during the winter months and at night time when some dog owners feel that they can’t be seen ‘under the cover of darkness.’

"Spelthorne Council has joined the edgy and uncompromising campaign to tackle dog fouling hotspots and is displaying posters that use innovative materials which glow-in-the-dark at night and recharge during the day.

"Cllr Maureen Attewell, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “We know that residents consider dog fouling to be by far the most unacceptable and dirtiest type of litter. The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people who pick up after their dogs but some people seem to think they don’t need to bother if it’s dark. We are pleased to be working together with Keep Britain Tidy on this cutting-edge campaign and hope that we will see some good results.”

There has been quite a lot of publicity in the national press regarding the dangers associated with battery packs for hoverboards. Should any of our readers have missed it, we bring to attention a recent email from Trading Standards which will be of interest: TS officers recently intercepted a £7,000 consignment of 51 self-balancing boards imported from China and sent them for testing to see if they complied with electrical safety standards.

Trading Standards will now ensure the boards can never be used by the public after checks showed that chargers and battery packs supplied with the products pose a fire risk.

In particular, TS are also investigating a case in Buckinghamshire where a woman was injured after a hoverboard belonging to her 10-year-old son exploded in a bedroom, sending burning fragments flying across the room.

The final Music Night of 2015 at Sunbury Cricket Club falls on Friday 11th December, when the Club welcomes The Mersey Legends once more for their now traditional Christmas bash.

They are led by Yanni Tsamplakos, who was born in Liverpool and who played at The Cavern with his band The Seftons in the heyday of the  beat boom – the band were top of the bill at the Cavern when it re-opened in 1967. They play wall-to-wall Mersey era classics, with a show that’s true to its roots, and promises an evening of non-stop ‘60s favourites that are always guaranteed to get everyone dancing, so come along with your friends and have a bit a rave-up to get the party season properly under way. You can get full information at www.themerseylegends.co.uk.

There’s a small bonus for this gig – the Club will be having a raffle, and the little tickets they give you when you pay at the door will actually give you a chance of winning one of the prizes, so make sure you hang on to them!