Surrey County Council's application for changes to the conditions attached to the Eco Park planning permission is to be heard by Spelthorne Planning Committee on Wednesday 18th December. (see article of 19th November).

It will be remembered that Spelthorne Council strongly opposed this original proposal when it considered the application on 26th January 2011, and confirmed their objection on 29th June 2011; but despite this and numerous objections from residents, permission for the Eco Park was nevertheless granted by Surrey County Council to itself on 15th March 2012. Section 73 Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which is the subject of this statutory consultation, provides a procedure for 'minor material' alterations to the original plan to be considered and approved; and provides a formal mechanism for so doing without the need to reconsider the application in its entirety.

It's important to note that the Local Planning Authority cannot re-consider the whole permission or re-open a debate on the matter. As a consultee, Spelthorne Council is constrained in the same way and can only reach a view on the amendments. It is nevertheless our view, and the Council's Planning Officers', that a number of amendments being proposed go beyond the definition of 'minor material' alterations and we are very pleased to see that at the time of going to print no fewer than 335 letters/emails of objection have been received by Spelthorne Council.

The final decision on the proposed changes to the Fire Service in Spelthorne is due to be taken by the Surrey County Council Cabinet on 4 February 2013.

In advance of this decision, Surrey County Council asked to buy from Spelthorne Borough Council a piece of Green Belt land on which to build the new single Fire Station included in the proposals. 

The request was due to be discussed by the Spelthorne Cabinet on 17 December (click here to read the Agenda item). This item has, however, now been removed from the Agenda.

The 'Rotten Boroughs' section of Today's edition of Private Eye puts the spotlight on Surrey County Council's obstinate refusal to back down over the installation of an incinerator at the Charlton Lane Community Recycling Centre; this, despite huge opposition both from local residents and Spelthorne Borough Council.

Private Eye has a circulation of around 0.25 million with a readership of perhaps double that, including members of the media, members of Parliament and, of course, the Surrey electorate. To view the article, click here

Quite apart from the now proven health-damaging implications associated with incinerators which are situated near centres of population, a key concern of this Association is, and has always been, the safety both of visitors to the proposed 'Eco Park', its employees and residents living in the vicinity. A LOSRA Committee member who has been very active in pursuing this particular concern has again written to the Health and Safety Executive and his letter may be viewed by clicking here

Many apologies to those of you who were delayed in the Staines Road West traffic on Saturday. The march, supported by LOSRA (see article of 23rd November), was a further demonstration of the opposition to the proposed cuts to our fire services. Already, through the consultation process, eleven Borough-wide residents' associations, three packed consultation meetings and every local councillor has come out against the cuts. At a political level, the Leader, and the Council as a whole, have voted against the cuts. It now remains to be seen whether Surrey County Council take note of the strength of opposition and consign this ill-conceived proposal to the waste bin.

This Association is mature enough to understand that cuts to services are a necessary fact of life especially in these straitened times but we hold to the view that the risks associated with these proposals (see article of 13th September) outweigh any possible advantage to the County's balance sheet.

All residents will by now have read our autumn 2013 newsletter. If not, you may access it by clicking on the Newsletters button at the top of the Home Page. One of the items in particular relates to Sunbury Health Centre and concerns over the levels of service provided. If you have experienced difficulties in obtaining an appointment with the doctor, or time, of your choosing, you may wish to click on the following link. It's a very short survey and will take only a few moments to complete.

http://www.healthwatchsurrey.co.uk/content/gp-appointments-survey-0

The following email has been received from the Assistant Director, Environment at Surrey County Council:

"I’m writing to let you know that work begins at Charlton Lane this week to improve the site entrance and access road into the community recycling centre. These improvements will separate community recycling centre traffic from the HGVs using the site’s transfer station and reduce the likelihood of queuing on the road at peak times. They are separate to the Eco Park proposals.

"In December the contractors will set up site offices for the team working on the improvements and build an acoustic fence around the house near to the site entrance. This will take place in a different part of the site to the community recycling centre so we don’t anticipate any disruption to customers.

"The improvement works themselves will begin in the new year and are due to be complete by the end of February. The community recycling centre will remain open throughout these works with some temporary changes to the access. These will be clearly signposted, with staff on hand to help and any disruption to customers will be kept to a minimum. If you have any questions about the works, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Ian Boast

Assistant Director - Environment

Surrey County Council

Tel: 020 8541 9479

Fax: 020 8541 9521

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The final Music Night of the year is on Friday week, the 13th December, when the Club welcomes back The Beat Legends for another rollicking night of wall-to-wall Mersey Era classics. They gave us a great show last year, and a fun party night with plenty of dancing can be guaranteed.

Yanni, the group's leader, is a Liverpool native whose band The Seftons were regulars at The Cavern - they played there when the venue re-opened in 1967. The band are really slick and professional and will be reeling off the '60s hits in fine style. If you enjoyed the '60s All Stars, you will love them. Do come and make it a real kick-off to the party season.

The latest TS Alert warns that customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster should be wary of phishing emails as fraudsters may take advantage of the banks recent computer glitch.

On a more seasonal note, warnings are circulating on Facebook about a “Christmas Tree” app that will infect and crash computers if you download it. 

To view the full alert, click here

The following email from Sergeant Parish has been received by LOSRA and we publish it for those who may not be on the Surrey Police mailing list:

Please be aware that Spelthorne is currently experiencing an increase in shed breaks. This has been particularly prominent in the Stanwell, Sunbury and Ashford areas. Please can I ask that you spread the word to the communities in which you live to spend a few minutes checking the security of your sheds and securing any property therein? For a few pounds you can buy shed alarms, tamper prove hinges and other preventative items to deter offenders. 

Specifically in Stanwell the roads most affected are in the Cranford Avenue, Hillingdon Avenue and Osbourne Avenue area so please be very vigilant if you live (or know someone who lives) here. We will actively seek to prosecute the offender(s) if we catch them but we need your help to identify who is committing these offences.

Don't forget, we are putting regular news and updates on our Twitter and Facebook @SpelthorneBeat for the whole of the Borough so you can keep up with what we are doing.

Hope you are all well

Sgt 2895 Parish

Spelthorne Council is currently consulting residents on how best to provide leisure facilities in the Borough. Residents are being asked about their use of current facilities and their thoughts and ideas for the future.

Cllr Penny Forbes-Forsyth, Spelthorne Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, said: “This is people’s chance to tell us what leisure facilities they would like to see in the Borough and we hope that residents of all ages will take the opportunity to have their say on future services.”

To have your say, visit www.spelthorne.gov.uk/leisureconsultation and click on the link to the online questionnaire.

Alternatively if you would like a hard copy of the questionnaire please contact Leisure Services on 01784 446433 or pick one up at the Council Office reception, Spelthorne or Sunbury Leisure Centre or your local library.

The deadline for completing the questionnaire is Friday 31 January 2014