Welcome to the LOSRA Website
Like any local community, the policies and decisions shaping the character and future of Lower Sunbury are influenced by a combination of local and national government initiatives, alongside market forces and vested interests operating within these frameworks. As with many areas, Lower Sunbury faces challenges stemming from an aging infrastructure, rapid urban development, increasing traffic congestion, and other pressures that impact both quality of life and the distinctive character of the neighbourhood.
In collaboration with local authorities, other residents’ associations and amenity groups, LOSRA plays a vital role in addressing fundamental issues that affect its members' lives. This organisation not only engages with broader strategic concerns but also focuses on the everyday matters that shape community well-being.
To stay informed, we encourage you to subscribe to our regular e-bulletins via the link at the top left of this page. Your continued support is essential to our efforts, and we urge you to join or renew your membership. Subscriptions for 2026 are now payable at £5 per household. Donations are also welcome.
Alan Darby's Guitars de Luxe Make Debut at SCC on 4th July
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club falls on Friday 4th July, when the Club welcomes a brand new band to the circuit in ALAN DARBY’S GUITARS DE LUXE. Regular visitors to the Club are known to enjoy seeing really top class blues and rock guitarists, so SCC is putting on a show which boasts three of them!
Some of you will have seen Alan Darby when he played at the Club last year with The Lee Ryder Band, and ended the evening with a rousing guitar battle with Lee’s regular guitarist Deezal Martin. Guitars Deluxe reveal gloriously diverse backgrounds having shared stages and recording studios as well as writing credits with many of music greats. The guitarists are Alan Darby (Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Robert Palmer), Jake Zaitz (Mick Jagger, Joe Louis Walker, Dana Gillespie, Ian Siegal), Artie Zaitz (Pee Wee Ellis, Earl Green, Alex Garnett, Gary Crosby), complemented by the cool rhythm section including Matt Round on bass (Jeff Lynn, James Morrison, Billy Bragg), and Evan Jenkins on drums (Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Matt Schofield).
Alan enjoyed playing at the Club and thought it would be an excellent venue to visit in the band’s early life before they target bigger stages, so we are getting something of an inside track on a very interesting new outfit and the chance to see some top players in action – and before their Eel Pie Club debut in September. It should a great night.
The Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Association Announces Programme for 2014 Arts Festival
The Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Association is delighted to announce the programme for the Arts Festival 2014.
With the exception of an evening of jazz at Sunbury Cricket Club, all events will be held at the Riverside Arts Centre, 59 Thames Street, Lower Sunbury.
Several lectures and demonstrations are included in the programme of events covering subjects as diverse as local history, acrylic painting, flower arrangement and crossword compilation. An evening of scenes from Shakespeare accompanied by Elizabethan music and song, a screening of The African Queen by Shepperton Studios, two afternoon concerts (including cream tea) and a concert of music arranged for the Kew Wind Orchestra complete the programme.
To see a list detailing all the events, click here
Pre-performance dining
Little Italy, 71 Thames Street (just two minutes walk from the Riverside Arts Centre) will open for meals prior to the Festival events on 17 and 18 July. Please call 01932 787840 to reserve your pre-theatre table.
Geoffrey Bowyer says farewell
The SSAA is also promoting Geoffrey Bowyer's last concert with Cantanti Camerati (in aid of the Church Buildings Fund). This will be held in St Mary's Church, Sunbury on 12 July at 7.30pm. Ticket requests should be directed to the Cantanti Camerati Box Office on 020 8898 8020.
Booking for the Festival is now open - please telephone the Box Office on 01932 567 365 to book your tickets.
You can also visit us on our website www.ssaa-arts.org
We look forward to seeing you in July!
Sunbury & Shepperton Arts Association
Twitter: @SunShepArts Facebook: SunburySheppertonArtsClub
Did You Witness this Dog Attack?
On Thursday 20th June, a local resident was walking with her dog, Jake, in Avenue Parade. The dog, a Lhasa Apso/poodle cross, was attacked by a staffordshire bull terrier that had been left unattended and tied up to a mobile signage outside Budgens. Both the dog and the resident were injured as a result.
The owner of the beige and white coloured terrier was himself apparently very upset by what his dog had done and left his contact number with the manager of the newsagents. Unfortunately when rung this number proved to be incorrect.
There were a number of people in Avenue Parade helping the lady that day, for which she is very grateful, but if anyone knows this man, or has any information to help identify him please get in touch via the 'Contact' button at the top of the Home Page.
Open Day at St. Mary's Church, 28th June
St Mary's Church will be holding an Open Day on Saturday 28th June.
"Come and join us for TEA ON THE LAWN (if weather inclement inside the church).
Bring your friends and family between 1.00pm and 4.00pm for a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Everyone is welcome."
Council set to tackle unauthorised boat mooring
Riverside residents in Lower Sunbury may be interested to know that Spelthorne Council is stepping up enforcement action to tackle the problems created by boats mooring on the Thames in certain parts of the Borough.
Residents of Ryepeck Meadow and Council owned land near the Red Lion pub in Shepperton have been battling problems caused by boat owners mooring and discharging waste from their boats.
Cost-effective and timely enforcement of unauthorised moorings on the Thames is an issue which the River Thames Alliance and Environment Agency have been grappling with for some time and earlier in the year the Environment Agency completed a six month pilot scheme using specialised contractors to enforce mooring restrictions in Elmbridge and Oxford.
Following the success of this pilot, Spelthorne Council will be the first local authority to take up this new innovative enforcement method. Signage is being introduced to warn boat owners of the mooring restrictions and, following warnings; enforcement action will be taken against those who ignore the conditions.
If it's not floods, its thieves plaguing the Riverside!
The following report from Waters Edge is published here to encourage extra vigilance amongst our riverside residents. These thefts may prove to be isolated and opportunistic but experience tells us that, once an area has been identified as profitable for thieves, there is a high risk that they will return.
Between 1am and 5am on Thursday 12th June 2014 offender/s stole a brand new grey Tohatsu 9.9hp marine engine from a boat moored at Lower Sunbury in vicinity of the Lower Hampton Road.
Between 6pm Wednesday 11th and 4pm Thursday 12th June 2014 a gate was broken, a vehicle driven in and a black outboard motor stolen from a boat on the bank of the River. A metal 'A' frame was also previously stolen from this location.
A 4hp outboard engine was also stolen from a shed in Lower Sunbury around the 14th May.
More...
Sunbury and Shepperton Flood Meeting, 6th June at St. Mary's Church Hall
Further to the preceding article (10th June) David Murphy of the Environment Agency addressed concerned residents who flocked to the meeting arranged by Monica Chard of Village Matters on June 6th to hear about plans for the River Thames Scheme. MP Kwasi Kwarteng was also in attendance along with local councillors.
At the conclusion of the meeting David kindly offered to send the slides which he had used for the presentation. These have now been received and may be viewed by clicking here.
We will be following this issue closely in coming months.
Flood Forum at Staines Leisure Centre Held on 5th June and Sunbury, 6th June
Further to the notice published on this Site on 19th May, we await the Environment Agency slides before publishing the details of the meeting held at St. Mary's Church Hall on Friday 6th June and will do so just as soon as these become available to us.
The floods which caused such terrible devastation for the Borough earlier in the year were the topic of discussion at a Community Flood Meeting organised by Spelthorne Council and held on the evening of Thursday 5 June at Spelthorne Leisure Centre.
The public meeting, the first of its kind to be organised by a Surrey council, involved all the key agencies responsible for managing the flood crisis and recovery effort; and was attended by over 800 people. The invited representatives came from a number of organisations including the Environment Agency, Surrey Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Spelthorne Council, Surrey County Council, Thames Water and the National Flood Forum.
The meeting was chaired by Cllr Philippa Broom, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee and, following the initial introductions, Ian Toames from the Environment Agency gave an overview of the cause and scale of the flooding.
This was followed by a question and answer session during which residents asked questions on a very wide range of topics including how to prevent future flooding, flooding of the River Ash, drainage and sewage problems, the impact o5f Sweeps Ditch, the timing of the army deployment and whether the river should be dredged. Over one hundred questions were submitted in advance of the meeting and residents were also able to ask questions on the night.
Prior to the main meeting, a market place event was held to allow residents to speak directly with the agencies and to ask more detailed questions about their personal circumstances.
Cllr Daxa Patel, Cabinet Member for Emergency Planning said: “Community and Accountability are two of the Council’s core values and this meeting was a very real reflection of our commitment to bring all the agencies together and give residents a voice. As with any emergency, there are always valuable lessons to be learned and together with our partner agencies we are looking at which aspects of the crisis were managed well and which areas need to be improved. Thank you to all the residents who came along and to the organisations which took part.” Daxa was also present at the Sunbury meeting the following day.
Spelthorne Chief Executive, Roberto Tambini closed the meeting with a commitment that Spelthorne Council will work with Kwasi Kwarteng MP and Surrey County Council to narrow the short-fall in funding for the River Thames Scheme and to facilitate local flood meetings to allow the affected communities to continue discussions with the key agencies regarding future flood defences.
Not surprisingly, and given the misery suffered by many Staines and Sunbury residents, both events became highly vocal with residents expressing their well-founded frustration and desperation.The Evnironment Agency and other bodies with responsibility for flood prevention and relief cannot fail to have been impressed by the outpouring of well-informed scepticism and challenges to the status quo.
The Mustangs Return to SCC on 20th June
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club is on Friday week, 20th June, when the Cricket Club welcomes back The Mustangs after quite a lengthy absence. They continue to consolidate their position as one of the most highly-regarded contemporary blues-rock outfits on the UK club and festival circuit, with a high-energy stage show featuring their distinctive brand of blues-inspired original material. Led by dynamic front man Adam Norsworthy and featuring the blues harmonica of Derek Kingaby, they have just featured on the main stage at the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival, and once again have the Cambridge Rock Festival and Swanage Blues Festival on their agenda during the summer and autumn.
They are about to release their first ‘live’ album before going into the studio with top producer Wayne Proctor to record their next album, and visitors will no doubt hear some of their new material that’s destined for that album, along with some familiar material. They always put on a hugely entertaining high-octane show, and if you’ve only started coming to the Club's gigs recently you might not have seen them before, so make sure you don’t miss them. There’s full information, plus lots of music and videos, on their web site at www.themustangs.co.uk, so check them out there. For once, the Club has managed to avoid organising a gig on the night of an England World Cup match, so looks forward to seeing you there.
Notice of LOSRA AGM, Wednesday 25th June
The Association's 2014 AGM will be held at the Riverside Arts Centre, Thames Street, on Wednesday 25th June at 8pm.
You will see from the Agenda that the Environment Agency has kindly agreed to give a presentation on flood relief proposals - a highly topical subject given the misery endured by many local residents this winter. All are welcome to attend.
AGENDA
- Apologies for Absence
- Minutes of the 2013 Annual General Meeting
- Chairman's Report
- Treasurer's Report
- To Approve Revised Constitution
- Election of Officers and Committee
- Flood Relief Proposals - Presentation by Environment Agency
- Open Forum
- Any Other Business
If you have any particular issue you wish to be addressed at the Open Forum (Item 8 above) please notify the Secretary Colleen Cuthbert on 01932 783606 or through the 'Contact LOSRA' button on the Home Page of this Website.
Community Flood Meetings, 5th & 6th June
5pm – 7pm market place, Staines-on-Thames, 7pm – 9pm presentation and questions and answers session at Spelthorne Leisure Centre, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1AJ
To see the flier advertising this event, please click here
In addition, on the following day, the 6th June residents will have their chance to put flood related questions to our MP, Kwasi Kwarteng. The editor of Sunbury Matters, Monica Chard, has asked him to meet the community at St. Mary's Church Hall, Green Street at 4pm. All residents are welcome to attend this event.
Latest Trading Standards Alert
The latest Trading Standards Alert draws our attention to, amongst other things, car sale scams conning Surrey residents out of thousands of pounds, parcel scams, Paypal phishing and much more besides.
Do you Receive the Council's Electronic Newsletters?
Many of our readers already subscribe to this service but, tor those who don't, the following email from Spelthorne Council will be of interest:
Good morning
I have been asked by the Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee to circulate a link to the borough’s electronic newsletter, to all residents’ associations, with the request that this is sent out to all your members and other contacts as soon as possible.
Please send via email, or include an item in your own leaflets and newsletters.
The Council is keen to encourage as many channels of communication as possible and the monthly e-news is an excellent way of keeping up to date with news and events.
Visit this page on our website http://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/enews and click on the green box on the right of the page.
Thank you
Regards
Joanne
Joanne Jones
Community Development
Spelthorne Council
Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB
Surrey County Council's Double Standards?
Surrey County Council has refused permission for the Weylands Waste treatment plant in Walton citing:
"The applicant has failed to demonstrate factors which either alone or in combination demonstrate ‘very special circumstances’, which clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by virtue of the harm to openness, inappropriate nature of the development and the other harm from noise, traffic and air quality impacts. The applicant has not produced a robust alternative site assessment or demonstrated that the site would be well related to the source of waste arisings it would receive. The proposal therefore does not accord with the National Planning Policy Framework 2012, Policy CW6 of the Surrey Waste Plan 2008 and Elmbridge Borough Core Strategy 2011 Policy CS1."
It is interesting to note that the County Authority is using in its grounds for refusal the same objections as were advanced by Spelthorne Council and its residents to the construction of an incinerator at the Charlton Lane Recycling Centre, (aka the 'Eco Park'). The Weylands waste treatment plant would have been more efficient than Charlton Lane; and would have used tried and tested technology, unlike the untested, experimental technology approved for Charlton Lane.
It seems that there are two different standards being applied, depending on which side of the river you live.
