Local Authority

Schoolchildren of Spelthorne were guests at environmental conferences where the special guest speaker was a Shiwiar Indian from the Amazon rainforest.

Primary school pupils attended the conference at the Spelthorne council chamber, in Knowle Green, Staines on Monday, February 1, with secondary school students attending on Tuesday, February 2.

Guest speaker Juan Kunchikuy, who hails from the Ecuadorian part of the rainforest, spoke to the children about his life in the Amazon, how it is changing due to deforestation and the influences of outside cultures.

AN offy that has attracted repeated controversy after having it's license revoked twice has been granted a the right to sell alcohol by new owners.

At a licensing sub committee meeting at Spelthorne Borough Council on Wednesday January 27 it was decided that with certain conditions Mr Hardip Singh of Sunny Food and Wine on Groveley Road Sunbury would be permitted to sell alcohol on the premises.

The decision comes just six months after the previous owners of the shop, then called Bargain Booze, had their license revoked for selling alcohol to children.

STAINES police constables could be sharing office space with Spelthorne Council's offices by the beginning of April.

A public consultation was launched on Friday (29) to find out resident's opinions on possible station closures, but the force is currently looking at merging neighbourhood teams with the council offices, in Knowle Green, due to the cutting of the forces budget last year.

Spelthorne voters turned out in full to vote for 'the black Boris Johnson' at a meeting designed to choose the next Conservative candidate for the borough.

Four hundred and nine people packed into Kempton Park Racecourse to listen to six hopefuls give a 30 minute presentation each, and although local candidate Philippa Broom was tipped to win, the accolade went to Eton and Cambridge University educated Kwasi Kwarteng.

Surrey County Council has pledged £500,000 to repair hundreds of potholes which have sprung up on the county's roads in the wake of the heavy snow.

Repair teams are currently working to fix at least 200 potholes a day to avoid any vehicle damage to drivers and residents.

A petition containing 68 signatures was handed into a council meeting on Monday January 18 to stop the axing of the number 557 bus.

The petition was created by Stanwell campaigner Andrew McLuskey, who spoke at the Surrey County Council local committee in Spelthorne, which saw councillors and the public speak out about The Surrey Bus Review.

AMBULANCE chiefs have declared a major incident in the wake of heavy snowfall across the area.

Patients are being warned to stay away from Accident and Emergency at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, and bosses at South East Coast Ambulance Service are warning people to stay indoors if they can.

THREE town centres in Spelthorne are to be spruced up thanks to a cash injection from Surrey County Council.

Spelthorne Council had originally set aside £300,000 to regenerate Ashford, Sunbury Cross and Shepperton, but this has now been matched by Surrey County Council, giving them £600,000 to spend.

The chief executive of Spelthorne Council has said he is 'extremely disheartened' after the authority received an 'adequate' independent review by the Audit Commission.

Roberto Tambini has hit out at new website OnePlace, who assess local authorities and combines views of six independent inspectorates, which include the Audit Commission, Ofsted, and the Care Quality Commission.

Residents and councillors have given mixed reactions to the possible decision to close Ashford, Sunbury, and Shepperton police stations.

Chief constable Mark Rowley said in November that the force are planning to close numerous old police stations in the county and employ 200 extra front line bobbies in the face of their budget being cut by the government this year.