With reference to our earlier article of 27th February, readers will remember that The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), (see: https://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/SCI)  sets out how and when the Council intends to involve people, businesses and organisations in the planning process.  The SCI includes how stakeholders will be involved in the review of the Local Plan, preparation of other planning documents and evidence base studies as well as the determination of planning applications.

The Council having prepared the draft SCI which updates the current version adopted in 2006 invited the local community to comment.

The response by the Hon. Chairman, LOSRA may be viewed by clicking here

Poll cards will be sent out at the end of this week to all those currently registered, informing electors of the forthcoming elections. For those electors voting at the polling station the poll card will explain when and how to vote and include a map showing the location of the polling station. Postal voters will be sent a poll card informing them they have a postal vote in place and instructions on returning the postal packs.

If you have recently moved and need to register at your new address, you will need to access the government website, www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. To register you will need to provide your name, address, previous address, date of birth and national insurance number. It only takes a few minutes and you must be registered by 20 April 2015. As additional information may be required by us to complete your registration, you should register as soon as possible.

If you will be unable to get to the polling station on 7 May, you may apply for a postal vote. Applications to vote by post must be received by 21 April 2015 but are not available to everyone. You should check with the electoral services department to ensure you are eligible to have a postal vote and will be around to receive the postal packs. Alternatively, you may wish to appoint a proxy and if this is the case, you should check again with us to ensure you are entitled to this arrangement.

Any queries concerning electoral registration and voting arrangements should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or please telephone 01784 444218.

Our Association has just been notified by Spelthorne Council of the application by Elmbridge Council to press ahead with the deeply unpopuIar Excel Centre riverside development at Waterside Drive, Walton. Spelthorne Planning Office, as statutory consultees, has undertaken to alert residents in Parke Road and those at the most western end of Thames Street. Representations may be completed online with regard to two applications, (Refs: 2015/0949 & 2015/0868) may be viewed via the Elmbridge Council website: http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning/

A local resident of Wheatley's Ait which, though on the Sunbury side of the river and by a strange anomaly actually within Elmbridge Borough, has made the following submission in respect of application 2015/0949:

'As an Elmbridge resident bordering the proposed development on the riverside, I have serious concerns regarding the amount of light and noise pollution that this complex in its proposed form will generate on a daily basis. Noise travels very easily across water and the proposal does not have adequate screening to minimise this. I would like the proposed chain fencing that borders the running track on the riverside to be replaced with acoustic screening. I would also like to see additional natural screening in the form of high evergreen trees and shrubs along the river border to also help minimise the effects of noise and light pollution on local residents'.

With regard to application 2015/0868, in which the developer argues against the need for a full Environmental Impact Assessment, the resident has submitted this representation:

'I do not agree with the applicant’s opinion that an Environmental Impact Assessment is not required. The proposed development does fall within a Schedule 2 Development. There will be a significant likelihood of environmental effects both during the building of the development and the use of the development. The planned development is over 28 times larger than the criteria of .5ha. It is also over a large landfill site with a high probability of contaminates being disturbed.

The proposed development is on the border of the River Thames and the border between Elmbridge and Spelthorne with a high probability of noise and light pollution effecting local residents and visitors for the lifetime of the development. An Environmental Impact Assessment needs to be undertaken to determine what safeguards need to be in place to mitigate these effects’.

An Easter egg hunt is being held for children aged 12 and under at the market in Staines-upon-Thames on Saturday 4 April, from 10am – 2pm, near the entrance to the Elmsleigh Centre.

Find 10 posters around the market, collect 10 cards and then claim your Easter egg (one egg per child).

Within our communities we have a wealth of skills, interests and experience that we can share with each other. Sharing these things can help to make our communities even better places to live and Timebanking is a really simple way to make that sharing easy.

Timebanking is all about giving and receiving. It works by people offering to share a skill, interest, experience or some practical support with other time bank members. In return they can receive something they want from the time bank.

Tony is 17 and offers to teach older people at the local community centre how to use WiiFit to keep them mobile and active. For every hour Tony puts in he earns one time credit which he spends on learning new cooking skills from Jan, another time bank member. Everyone’s time is equal. For more information about timebanking please read the attached flyer and visit www.timebanking.org.

You are warmly invited to attend an information session on Monday 30 March to find out more about timebanking and how it could benefit your community. You will also find out how Timebanking UK and Surrey County Council could work with people, groups, organisations and businesses to create a time bank in your area. The session will take place between 1pm and 3pm at the Staines Library, Friends Walk, Staines, TW18 4PG.

To book your place, please contact Liz Tracey: Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Telephone 02085417020.

Readers of our Spring and Autumn 2014 newsletters will be aware that the Association, following widespread public support, commissioned Ramboll UK to undertake a feasibility study of possible locations for a cycle/footbridge connecting Lower Sunbury to the Thames Path National Trail at Walton.

We are very pleased to announce that the report has now been completed thanks to the generous sponsorship of Crest Nicholson and London Irish RFC; and a contribution from our County Councillor's member's allowance.

The report identifies five possible sites, which now brings us to the next stage of the project. We are obviously very anxious to hear your views as to the preferred location for the bridge. To this end a number of public consultation drop-in events have been arranged at the Riverside Arts Centre. 57-59, Thames Street, on the following dates and times:

Saturday, April 11th in the Studio 1100-1300
Wednesday, April 15th in the Main hall 1900-2300
Saturday, April 25th in the Studio 1400-1800

The report, together with appendices is published here and will allow residents to familiarise themselves with its content beforehand.

Each event will be introduced by a LOSRA Committee member so it would be advisable to attend at the start times shown. It should be stressed that the consultation will be limited to possible site selections only. To have included design options for each site would have proved prohibitively expensive.

Feedback forms and ballot papers will be available at each event and a supply of ballot papers will also be made available at Skinners Post Office.

For those who have read the online report but are unable to attend any of the events, a copy of the ballot paper may be completed by clicking here

Data protection: Please note that Information provided on the ballot paper will be held by Cratus Communications on behalf of LOSRA. Your data will be used exclusively to inform the consultation regarding a river crossing at Sunbury and for no other purpose.

Team Spelthorne is looking for young people aged 7-16 to participate in the annual P&G Surrey Youth Games. The P&G Surrey Youth Games is the largest annual youth festival with over 2000 young people experiencing a competitive, countywide sporting event.

The event is a great opportunity to try a new sport or improve existing skills.

The coaching sessions take place from April and there are fifteen sports on offer including hockey, cricket, judo, football, basketball, lacrosse, touch rugby, table tennis and boccia. Thanks to sponsorship from local organisations, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Everyone Active and Shepperton Studios, Spelthorne Council is offering the coaching sessions free of charge. Participants will then be selected from the coaching sessions to represent Team Spelthorne at the Games on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June 2015 at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. 

To be eligible for Team Spelthorne, you must either live or go to school in Spelthorne and if you already play a sport, you must be below county standard.

Please register online at www.spelthorne.gov.uk/surreyyouthgames to guarantee your place. Each sport has limited spaces and places are given on a first come first served basis. Please visit the website for a full list of sports, coaching timetable and eligibility criteria.

For more information contact Spelthorne Leisure Services on 01784 446433 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Our Spring Newsletter for 2015 is back from the printers and we can expect house-to-house deliveries to commence very shortly. The formatting of the pages did not allow us to feature the drop-in exhibitions for the cycle/footbridge consultations on the front page, so persevere and you will see the article on the right hand column of page.3.

The on-line copy of the newsletter may be viewed by clicking here

The full cycle/footbridge feasibility report will be published on this site in the next few days.

A local resident has reported the poisoning of a dog in the popular Hawke Park, the linear green space which runs through Lower Sunbury.  The report, originally made on Facebook, relates to an incident which occurred on Sunday evening in an area of the park which is close to Sunna Gardens or Saxonbury Avenue.

It is not known whether the poison was left deliberately for a dog or whether it was intended for pest control. Whatever the intention, the dog is now seriously ill and we use this space to alert all dog-walkers in the vicinity to exercise extreme caution.

An application for the Creation of children's play area including the erection of natural play equipment and the provision of bark safety surfacing is being considered by our planning office.

If you wish view this application ((Ref: 15/00237/FUL) or to make representations, please click here

Representations should be submitted by 25th March.