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 2025 are now payable.
Review of Walled Garden Monument
The Council has made the following announcement:
The Council are currently reviewing all historical monuments in the Borough and will work with local communities to assess the appropriateness of these statues.
In the interim we have decided to close the Sunbury Walled Garden whilst this review is being undertaken.
Departure of 6 Councillors ends 45 years of Conservative Majority Rule in Spelthorne
Six of Spelthorne Council’s most senior Councillors have quit the Conservative Party today, following their AGM last night [This press release embargoed until 9th June]. This means that for the first time in Spelthorne’s history, the Conservatives no longer have majority control of Spelthorne Council. The Conservative Group now have only 17 councillors and the other Groups collectively 22 councillors.
Council Leader Ian Harvey, Deputy Leader Olivia Rybinski, Cabinet members Jo Sexton, Amar Brar and Helen Harvey, along with long serving Cllr Richard Smith-Ainsley have been instrumental in delivering financial security for the borough. ‘’It is with regret that we had to leave the Conservative Group. Increasingly over the past 6 months we have witnessed and endured torrid levels of bullying, misogyny, hounding and intimidation which has escalated during the lockdown. This has made our continuing membership untenable. Efforts to seek assistance from the Party, at all levels, including CCHQ, to resolve this, have fallen on deaf ears’’ said Cllr Rybinski.
"This faction clearly believe that whilst the Council is still at Amber Standing; it is a good time to cause massive disruption and distraction within the Council Executive by seeking a change in the Leadership Team, furthermore What is most upsetting is that this divisive faction within the conservatives have put party politics and their own personal ambitions over and above the best interests of Spelthorne Residents’’ said Cllr Sexton.
Leader of the Council for the past 4 1⁄2 years Cllr Ian Harvey said: ‘’When I took over as Leader of the Council in 2016, the Borough was facing a severe financial crisis due to swingeing cuts to government and Surrey County Council grants, compounded by historic poor financial decisions. Our renowned investment strategies have re-invigorated Spelthorne finances to the extent that we have now embarked on our ambitious second stage of regeneration and have commenced a building program which will deliver over 1200 homes within 5 years. We have delivered a balanced budget
with increases below inflation for the last 4 years; the lowest Council Tax increases in Surrey this year. I am proud of what has been achieved under my leadership. Our new group, to be known as United Spelthorne Group, will continue to put the needs of Spelthorne residents first".
MP Kwasi Kwarteng Newsletter to Residents
The Association has been asked by the Parliamentary Assistant to our local MP to bring this newsletter to the attention of our readers.
Riverside Arts Centre receives the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
The following email has been received from the Riverside Arts Centre in Thames Street. We are delighted to reproduce it here and wholeheartedly endorse the award:
We, as a group of volunteers based in Sunbury, have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The RAC is committed to the furtherance of Art and Culture in Sunbury, Spelthorne, and beyond. However, we could not do this without the time and dedication of volunteers past and present. Everyone from the Management Committee to those of our users who dedicate their time make our centre the community hub that it is today - catering for over a 100 event nights a year & a large number of clubs, social gatherings, and classes
Riverside Arts Centre is one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are always wonderfully diverse.
Representatives of Riverside will receive the award from Michael More-Molyneux, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Riverside Arts Centre Chairman, James Ford-Bannister says:
“I speak on behalf of everyone at the RAC when I say that this is a great honour for all of us. When we were unexpectedly nominated, we were proud just to be considered but to be awarded the QAVS is an achievement that further validates all the hard hours everyone gladly puts in to give back to our local community. However, I know that our volunteers won't relax after this and will continue with the labour of love that is providing arts & culture in Lower Sunbury."
Doorstep Callers Prevention Campaign
Trading Standards has launched a new doorstep callers prevention campaign as there has been an increase since the lockdown restrictions have been eased.
They are asking neighbours, family and friends to look out for vulnerable people who are being targeted by fraudsters.
Find out how to prevent becoming a victim by visiting: https://bit.ly/DoorstepCallers
Discretionary Business Grants
Spelthorne Borough Council has launched their Discretionary Business Grants Fund scheme, which will provide support during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The government announced an additional £617million would be made available to small businesses across the nation and the Council, which has received £715,000, is now able to open its scheme for applications.
This grant fund is aimed at small and micro businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs who were not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund, or the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Fund.
Businesses must be small, have under 50 employees and they must also demonstrate they have seen a significant drop of income due to Coronavirus restriction measures. There will be different levels of grant payments; the maximum will be £25,000 and grants of £10,000, £5,000 and £2,500 can also be awarded.
In line with the guidelines funding will include a variety of businesses falling within the following categories:
- Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces such as Cafes, shops, restaurants and other food and beverage outlets in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment.
- Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment.
- Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of Business Rate.
- Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
- Businesses in the Supply Chain to the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality that did not qualify for business grants.
- Businesses who may qualify for a business grant but is waiting for a decision from the independent Valuation Office Agency.
- Start-up businesses who have seen a significant fall in seed investment due to the Covid-19 crisis.
- Private businesses providing a mixture of wellness and medical support that, have been effectively closed due to social distancing measures.
- Properties used for the provision of temporary living / boarding accommodation to animals (eg, catteries and kennels) that were closed or saw a significant reduction in income due to the Covid-19 restrictions on human travel.
- Businesses that provide cultural, arts and tourism services that did not qualify for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grants · Businesses who may qualify for a business grant but is waiting for a decision from the independent Valuation Office Agency.
How do I apply?
Businesses can read the full terms and conditions and make their application by visiting this website: https://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/LADGF
There will be a closing date of midnight on Sunday 14 June 2020 for businesses to apply for this discretionary grant fund.
Applications will then be assessed against eligibility criteria. Successful applicants will be contacted as soon as a decision is made with payments commencing the week beginning 29 June 2020.
We anticipate this round of grant funding to be oversubscribed so it is important all businesses applying give as much information as possible and all businesses must sign a declaration stating they are not committing any fraud and fully complying with any state aid limits.
More...
Community Recycling Centre to Take More Types of Waste
Announcement from Surrey County Council:
Following the successful reopening of the community recycling centres last month, from Monday 1 June, residents will be able to take more types of waste to Surrey's CRCs including wood, scrap metal, small electronics and white goods.
Social distancing rules on site will remain in places for the safety and wellbeing of staff and visitors to sites. This means the number of people allowed in each site at any one time will be limited. It's expected that only a quarter of cars will be able to pass through the sites, compared to the typical peak time visitor levels at this time of year.
Therefore, queues are expected and people should only visit the CRC if it's essential. If you do travel to the CRCs, please follow instructions from traffic marshals.
Opening hours are also changing at the sites. From 1 June, all sites that are currently operating, except Farnham and Camberley, will be open from 8am to 5pm. Farnham and Camberley will be open from 8am to 4pm. Then, from Monday 8 June, all ten sites that are currently operating will be open from 8am to 4pm.
The five smaller sites that are currently closed will remain closed for the time-being as it is not possible to safely open them with social distancing measures in place.
Residents using a van, pick-up or trailer will be able to visit the sites again but will still need a van permit, as usual. Due to social distancing measures, staff will not be able to assist you in unloading your vehicle, this includes white goods. So please only bring to site what you can carry yourself.
Unfortunately, the Revive re-use shops remain closed at this time and the sites do not have capacity to store items for re-use, so please hold onto these at home for the time-being.
At the moment, the sites won't be able to accept chargeable waste (soil, rubble, plasterboard or tyres), or textiles. Please check the website for full details of opening hours and materials you can take, before you travel.
Healthwatch Surrey Survey
Healthwatch Surrey is asking residents to share their experiences during the pandemic.
Healthwatch Surrey is supporting the NHS and social care in helping them to understand what has been working well and not so well for local people in health and social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. They would like to hear about all health and care experiences during this time, whether it’s COVID-19 related or non-related.
Experiences can be shared by completing Healthwatch Surrey’s survey (it can also be completed on someone’s behalf).
Telephone: 0303 303 0023
Text: 07952 787 533
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sunbury Health Centre and the Covid 19 Crisis
In these very unusual and troubling times, we thought it would be a good idea to get an update from the Participation Group at Sunbury Health Centre about how the Practice is coping with the present Covid 19 crisis. It’s good to know that, although many UK surgeries are running very reduced services and not seeing patients on site, Sunbury Health Centre is still open and seeing pre-booked patients where appropriate.
Strict safety measures are in place for both staff and patients to observe social distancing and minimise risk and it is very important that patients do not come to the health centre unless asked to do so.
The best way to contact the health centre is by using their website sunburyhealthcentre.nhs.uk or if you don’t have access to a computer or smartphone, then call the practice between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday. Their new website system can deal with most enquiries and it's easy to leave a message. A clinician will then call you back to assess your situation. Should they decide you need to attend the practice for an appointment, on checking in you will be asked to return to your car and a clinician will collect you for your appointment. The waiting room is only used for those patients not arriving by car.
If you haven’t already done so, consider signing up for the LIVI on-line consultation service, livi.co.uk. This free NHS service, enables patients to have a video consultation with a GP quickly and easily.
Please remember that this is a constantly changing situation, and government and NHS guidelines are frequently updated. Sunbury Health Centre now also has a FaceBook page that is worth following for the most up-to-date information.
Finally, it’s gratifying to note that the health centre is being well supported by the local community, Spelthorne Council and area NHS services. We are enormously grateful to all the clinicians and lay staff who are looking after us during these very trying times.
LOSRA AGM Cancelled
It is with regret that, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will not be holding our AGM scheduled for June this year.
We are however publishing our audited accounts for 2019.
Shepperton 'dump' to reopen today
The following email has been received from Robert Evans, a Spelthorne Councillor. It should be read carefully so as to avoid disappointment if the strict rules are not followed:
Opening of Charlton Lane recycling Centre and other Surrey sites.
I have been chasing Surrey to carefully re-open the dump and so I am pleased to confirm that a phased opening of the so called Community Recycling Centre (CRC) from Monday May 11th.The plan has been agreed in accordance with the set of government guiding principles, agreed by Surrey which are set out below in order of importance:
1. The reopening of the CRC sites will not adversely affect kerbside collections
2. Social distancing measures will be in place at each of the CRCs that are opened
3. Queuing to get onto sites will be minimised
We will open in two phases. The objective of Phase 1 is to deal with the initial surge of ‘pent up’ demand by maximising throughput of the sites, whilst maintaining social distancing principles. To enable a high throughput and fast turn-around by visitors, only two materials will be accepted at the sites (green garden waste and black bag residual waste).
The predominant waste type collected at our CRCs at this time of year is green garden waste and we expect this to be the commodity that residents will most wish to dispose of at the CRC. Offering a further service for black bag residual waste will take pressure of the district and borough collection services which are already dealing with increased volumes of waste with people staying at home.
When re-opening the CRCs the need for social distancing will mean that access to a CRC will need to be carefully controlled with restrictions on the number of users on site at any one time and the application of a strict one-in one-out policy, once that limit is reached. The overriding objective is to protect the health and safety of both the SUEZ staff and members of the public.
We are devising highway management plans by site to control the traffic to reduce queuing, this will include the use of traffic marshals at some sites. We are also maximising where we can to accommodate queuing cars on the site.
In phase 1, the majority of residents will have a journey of no more than ten miles although some will unfortunately have to travel up to 13 miles.
We expect phase 1 to continue until we are confident we can move to phase 2 when we will accept more materials. The key is to be flexible for up to a month but it may be shorter or longer depending on the observed level of demand. We will be reviewing regularly. Detailed arrangements for phase 1 operation are set out below.
During phase 1 no vans, trailers will be allowed on the sites and no permit or residents checks will be undertaken to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements. In addition only one person will be permitted to exit the vehicle to load waste into the containers.
Also an important point to note is that there will be no assistance available to help any residents during phase 1 of the reopening plan to comply with the requirements for social distancing.
Phase 1 reopening – detailed plan by site
CRC Opening hours Comments
Shepperton 9:00 – 18:00 This is one of the busiest CRCs in Surrey and is collocated with the Eco Park and bulking transfer facility.
Chertsey (Lyne) 9:00 –18:00 This site has a long internal access road which could accommodate queuing and separate HGV access
The other Surrey sites will either not be re-opening yet or have different times.
May Issue of Sunbury Matters
Air Pollution - Effect of lockdown in Spelthorne
It has been reported in the national press that more than 1,700 deaths in the Uk have been avoided in the past month due to lower air pollution during lockdown. The following is an extract from an email received by LOSRA on 30th April from Spelthorne Council's Principal Pollution Control Officer:
We have been starting to look at the impacts of lockdown on local air quality. Spelthorne’s Air Quality consultants, Ricardo, have been analysing the environmental impact of Covid19, which you can read here: https://airqualitynews.com/2020/03/31/ricardo-an-analysis-of-covid-19-lockdown-on-uk-local-air-pollution/.
We have been advised that the analysis for London Harlington will be in the right ball park for Spelthorne. It has been suggested to us by them that Spelthorne will be benefitting from 30-40 per cent reduction of nitrous oxides (NOx). Harlington is downwind of Heathrow so will be more impacted by reductions in airport operations. The Air Quality News website has a number of articles about local air quality during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As said before, weather is a massive factor in air quality. Until yesterday, the weather during lockdown has been warm and settled. This means that emissions do not disperse and hang around and build up in levels. At the start of lock down the wind direction was from the east and so we were getting long-range particulate pollution from Europe. Consequently, due to both these factors there have been a number of regional pollution incidents across Surrey/ the South East since lockdown started: e.g.
- Moderate levels of particles and ozone in late April 2020 (22/04/2020 to 27/04/2020) – this episode was caused by sustained, hot, calm weather preventing dispersion of pollution;
- Moderate levels of particles (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone during mid-April 2020 (05/04/2020 to 12/04/2020) – this episode was driven by air coming in from the near continent resulting in imported particulate pollution; and
- Moderate levels of particles (PM2.5) and ozone during late March 2020 (25/03/2020 to 27/03/2020) – this episode was also a result of easterly wind directions from Europe and wood burning emissions.
If you have the chance to remind your members about our AirAlert pollution episode alert service to assist those with heart and lung conditions, that would be much appreciated. People can sign up via:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.airalert.info/Surrey/
Telephone: 01737 276 403
Covid19; Supporting Spelthorne’s residents 6 weeks on
The following comprehensive press release from our Council (and which has cross party support) was released on 24th April. We are very pleased to reproduce it here and to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the officers and members who have worked so tirelessly on our behalf:
Spelthorne Borough Council is working tirelessly to best support our residents and local businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Spelthorne Borough Council closed its offices 6 weeks ago in response to Covid19 and rapidly moved to a virtual footing, successfully adapting our services to ensure residents still had access to the support they needed while maintaining ‘business as usual’ across our remaining services.
Since the crisis began daily conference calls of senior managers have coordinated the provision of services for residents. These have become a vital tool in order to orchestrate immediate support to vulnerable residents in our community and trying to mitigate the impact on businesses in the Borough. Regular engagement with regional and local resilience forums has ensured a coordinated and effective response to this unprecedented situation.
Covid-19 has highlighted extreme challenges for the Council with staff redeployment (roughly a quarter of our workforce have volunteered to be redeployed) a necessity to establish our community hub ‘Support4Spelthorne, support the increasing number of welfare calls to our residents and reassign staff to assist with the customer services team offering financial and housing advice.
A summary of actions taken by the Borough include:
Community Support
- our community hub ‘Support4Spelthorne’ set up to provide food parcels and welfare calls for vulnerable residents.
- 1,883 residents who were identified as the most vulnerable (category A) by the government have been contacted by us to see what support they need and escalated if required
- welfare calls and email checks have been made to an additional 4,000 residents (category B) who we have identified as also being vulnerable
- our community helpline is open 7 days a week, 12 hours a day and the team is making over 150 checks per day
- working with the NHS to ensure patients have somewhere to live and a support network in place after leaving hospital
- local rough sleepers have been identified and placed into accommodation where possible
- assisting Voluntary Support North Surrey which has responded to over 500 requests for volunteers to assist with tasks e.g. shopping and prescription delivery
Food and welfare support
- over 1,000 Meals-on-Wheels are being delivered on a weekly basis to priority residents as well as additional frozen meals and sandwiches
- working alongside the borough’s local food banks who have distributed over 80,000 meals/food parcels since the crisis began
- offering both financial and equipment assistance to our food banks and community groups and brokering major donations and support from MacDonald’s, Primark, BP and London Irish
- Delivery of prescriptions to over 150 households in partnership with voluntary groups.
Neighbourhood services
- providing a full rubbish/recycling collection service. Picture 54 Spelthorne waste trucks on top of each other and that is how much waste our crews have picked up in the last 2 weeks; 717 tonnes of domestic waste, 361 tonnes of recycling, 224 tonnes of garden waste and 108 tonnes of food waste and have also cleared away 77 fly tips
- our ground maintenance teams and street cleansing continue to ensure our parks, cemeteries and streets are maintained and stay clean and safe for the community to use
- all car parks apart from Elmsleigh and Tothill remain open and free parking has been introduced for NHS/Police and social care staff
- working with Surrey Police to ensure anti-social behaviour is being monitored and responded to
- community Safety teams and Enforcement Officers continue to operate across the Borough
Financial support
- over £8m has been paid in business grants (as at end of 23/4/20 600 grants)
- offering help and advice to residents who are claiming benefits for the first time
- encouraging residents to contact us if they are having problems paying their Council Tax and other bills from the Council
- signposting residents, businesses and the self-employed to the support/grants which are available if they have suffered a loss in income
Environmental health
- the team has visited over 600 businesses to check they are adhering to the closure and social distancing guidelines
- helping residents who are being affected by neighbourhood noise and smoky bonfires
- the team continue to safeguard the public by carrying on with the licencing of taxis, houses in multiple occupation, and animal boarding establishments. They are also continuing to enforce food hygiene regulations within food retail premises
Communications
In this unprecedented time, it has never been more important for councils to communicate effectively with their community ensuring information is up to date, accurate and accessible.
- Frequent E-News Covid19 Bulletins with all the latest information and support details, register online at; www.spelthorne.gov.uk/enews
- posters and leaflets with advice on how to get support in the community distributed door to door to residents that have assisted waste collections, also available at foodbanks and shared with our charity partners, your elected Councillors , Residents Associations groups and on our community noticeboards
- daily updates on social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn) , please follow these pages for the latest advice and matters of community interest
- videos from The Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Harvey on Council activities and messages of support during the pandemic
- dedicated web pages for residents and businesses www.spelthorne.gov.uk/coronavirus
- regular verbal and written updates to all councillors in the Borough
“Our staff have been working hard around the clock to best meet the needs of our community, especially the most vulnerable. Many teams have been re-deployed and are doing a fantastic job in difficult times. We want to assure you that the Council will continue to work tirelessly to offer the essential services that residents in the Borough require. We are also immensely grateful to and proud of all NHS staff, care workers and key workers working on the frontline saving lives and making sure that essential services and care are being provided to those in need. We are also immensely heartened to see that residents are providing neighbourhood support, are assisting food banks and Voluntary Support North Surrey. While these are difficult times, the fact that our community is helping and supporting those in need shows how caring our Borough is.”
Cllr Ian Harvey
Leader of the Council, Conservatives
Cllr Sandra Dunn
Leader, Liberal Democrats Group
Cllr Jan Doerfel
Leader, Green Party Group
Cllr Veena Siva
Leader, Labour Party Group
Kwasi Kwarteng, MP for Spelthorne, said: “I want to thank all the key workers across the Borough for the work that you continue to do as we get through this coronavirus pandemic together. I pay tribute to all those involved at the Council with establishing our community hub, ‘Support4Spelthorne’. For many this service will offer a lifeline of hope – ensuring we are reaching out to those must vulnerable in our Borough. Thank you to all the volunteers in Spelthorne, I am so proud to be the MP for Spelthorne. The level of support and generosity shown by people across the constituency wishing to help those self-isolating has been incredible.”
If you need support, please contact the Support4Spelthorne team by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01784 446446.
If you would like to volunteer, please visit www.spelthorne.gov.uk/volunteer
