Spelthorne
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Thames Street in Sunbury-on-Thames
Thames Street in Sunbury-on-Thames
Coat of arms of Spelthorne
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Ad Solem Prospicimus
(Latin: We look towards the Sun)
Spelthorne shown within Surrey
Spelthorne shown within Surrey
Coordinates: 51°26′N 0°30′W / 51.433°N 0.500°W / 51.433; -0.500
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Non-metropolitan countySurrey
Historic countyMiddlesex
StatusNon-metropolitan district, Borough
Incorporated1 April 1974
Admin HQStaines-upon-Thames
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodySpelthorne Borough Council
 • MPsKwasi Kwarteng
Area
 • Total19.75 sq mi (51.16 km2)
 • Rank250th (of 296)[1]
Population
 (2021)
 • Total102,995
 • Rank232nd (of 296)
 • Density5,200/sq mi (2,000/km2)
 • Ethnicity
91.8% White
3.8% S.Asian
1.3% Black
1.7% Mixed Race
0.7% Chinese
0.7% Other
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code43UH (ONS)
E07000213 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ045715

Spelthorne is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham. It is named after the medieval Spelthorne Hundred which had covered the area.

The borough is largely urban; although outside the boundaries of Greater London, it is almost entirely inside the M25 motorway which encircles London. The borough contains several large reservoirs, including the Wraysbury Reservoir, Staines Reservoirs and Queen Mary Reservoir, which all supply fresh water to London and surrounding areas.

The neighbouring districts are Elmbridge, Runnymede, Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames, the latter three being London boroughs.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering two former districts which were both abolished at the same time:[2]

These two urban districts had been part of Middlesex prior to 1965, when they had been transferred to Surrey on the creation of Greater London.[3] The new district was named after the medieval hundred of Spelthorne, which had covered the area plus adjoining parts of modern Greater London.[4][5] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]

The borough ceded a small amount of land in 1995, when Poyle was transferred to Slough.[7] The Spelthorne area was included in the Metropolitan Police District from 1840 until 2000, when it passed to Surrey Police.[8][9]

Spelthorne remains part of the Church of England Diocese of London and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster. The rest of Surrey falls into the Anglican dioceses of Guildford and Southwark, and the Roman Catholic diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

Floods in 2014 caused internal damage to 891 (or 2.2%) of homes in Spelthorne due to record rainfall causing Thames flooding. This compared to internal damage to more than 30% of homes in the neighbouring settlement of Wraysbury in the borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.[10]

In 2014 a campaign group of local business leaders called for the borough – along with others close to the capital – to be transferred from the county of Surrey to Greater London. The proposal was generally opposed by the public and was not pursued.[11]

Governance

Spelthorne Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Denise Saliagopoulos,
Independent
since 25 May 2023[12]
Joanne Sexton,
Independent
since 25 May 2023
Daniel Mouawad
since 2017
Structure
Seats39 councillors
Political groups
  Conservative (13)
  Liberal Democrats (10)
  Independents (7)
  Labour (7)
  Green (2)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place

Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB
Website
www.spelthorne.gov.uk

Spelthorne Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council.[13] There are no civil parishes in the borough, which is an unparished area.[14]

As of 2023, the council had £1.1 billion in borrowing, with the highest borrowing to income ratio of any council in England.[15]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2020.[16] Following the 2023 election, independent councillor Joanne Sexton was appointed leader of the council, with Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Bateson serving as deputy leader.[17]

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[18][19]

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–2020
No overall control2020–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Spelthorne. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been:[20]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Gerry Ceaser ConservativeNov 1995May 1997
Frank Davies ConservativeMay 199719 May 2005
Gerry Ceaser Conservative19 May 20056 May 2007
John Packman Conservative24 May 20078 May 2011
Vivienne Leighton Conservative26 May 201123 Feb 2012
Frank Ayers Conservative23 Feb 201221 Jan 2013
Robert Watts Conservative24 Jan 20135 Oct 2015
Quentin Edgington Conservative22 Oct 20152 Feb 2016
Ian Harvey[21][22] Conservative2 Feb 20169 Jun 2020
Independent9 Jun 202025 Jun 2020
John Boughtflower Conservative25 Jun 202027 May 2021
Lawrence Nichols Liberal Democrats27 May 202126 May 2022
John Boughtflower Conservative26 May 202225 May 2023
Joanne Sexton Independent25 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent by-election in September 2023, the composition of the council was:[23]

Party Councillors
Conservative 13
Liberal Democrats 10
Independent 7
Labour 7
Green 2
Total 39

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Map of wards within the Borough of Spelthorne

Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[24]

Premises

The council offices are at Knowle Green in Staines. The building was opened in 1972 for the former Staines Urban District Council, shortly before that council was abolished in 1974 to be replaced by Spelthorne Borough Council.[25]

Parks, lakes and the River Thames

The borough council estimates it has 3.0 square kilometres (750 acres) of parks, including, from Shepperton upstream, the Thames Path.[26] Its sixteen main parks with recreational/sports facilities[27] are supplemented by small greens and linear parks, such as those by the River Thames. The largest parks have woodland and flowering meadow. These support diverse and rare grasses, invertebrates and birds on a rich alluvial soil: Laleham Park and Sunbury Park.

The final great reduction of private parks was that of the early 20th century, a sale of Laleham manor demesne by the Earl of Lucan. The Jockey Club, as owner of Kempton Park Racecourse, is successor to the domain of the lords of the manor of Kempton – about 40% is a large nature reserve with its internal two large ponds abutting the Kempton Park Reservoirs Site of Special Scientific Interest, on Thames flood meadow.

The borough has five reservoirs, covering more than 15% of land, which apart from their main use of ensuring a stable and energy-efficient drinking water supply to London, are bird reserves and in the case of the Queen Mary Reservoir, a sailing training centre. A similar percentage of land is covered by other lakes, mostly former gravel pits no longer pumped out of water. The 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) River Ash, Surrey starts and ends in the borough.

Of recognised high importance to nature is Staines Moor, which alongside Sheepwalk Lake and wetlands, Shepperton are the sites of special scientific interest (SSSI).[28]

Hotels, take-aways and restaurants

Hospitality is widespread in the riverside towns. Sunbury and Staines town hubs are within 6 miles (10 km) of top UK attractions such as Windsor Castle, Thorpe Park, Hampton Court, Twickenham Rugby Stadium and Kew Gardens.

Transport

Staines is the borough's main station, being served by South Western Railway services to London Waterloo, Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside.[29]

Other land use

A January 2005 enhanced base map study by the Office for National Statistics managed to classify 50.8 square kilometres (19.6 sq mi), 99% of land in Spelthorne. The findings of this study showed that the land use in Spelthorne was as follows:[30]

Area
Greenspace20.954 km2 (8.090 sq mi)
Water11.165 km2 (4.311 sq mi)
Domestic gardens8.495 km2 (3.280 sq mi)
Road3.919 km2 (1.513 sq mi)
Other land uses2.491 km2 (0.962 sq mi)
Domestic buildings2.403 km2 (0.928 sq mi)
Non-domestic buildings1.045 km2 (0.403 sq mi)
Path0.209 km2 (0.081 sq mi)
Rail0.134 km2 (0.052 sq mi)


Two Rivers Retail Park and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. In 2016 there were:

  • 5,365 businesses (including retailers) in Spelthorne.
  • a 10 screen cinema with Dolby Digital Surround Sound.
  • 12 miles of river frontage for picturesque walks.
  • 65% green belt land or water – a green and blue buffer offsetting local major economic contributors Heathrow Airport and the UK motorway network

Sport and leisure

The district has two publicly sponsored leisure centres and two private clubs with pools, and two without pools:

It has two golf courses.

School-taught English sports: cricket and football are played at many pitches; the third, rugby union is played at the London Irish Hazelwood Centre sharing pitches with London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club in Sunbury. Staines Rugby Club play next to the Feltham-Hanworth-Sunbury tripoint in Lower Feltham.

Spelthorne has two football clubs – semi- or non-professional – as the top men's sides compete in the lower leagues:

Club Ground
Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.CThe Robert Parker Stadium, Short Lane, Stanwell
Spelthorne Sports F.C.Spelthorne Sports Club, Staines Road West, Ashford

Spelthorne hosts one of the county's major archery clubs (Spelthorne Archers) and five lawn bowls clubs.

Fishing is open to all, subject to rod licensing,[31] from the Thames Path National Trail and adjoining islands in Laleham and Staines as well as at lakes in Shepperton and Ashford. One rowing club is in the borough, at Laleham, with others nearby including Staines Boat Club across Staines Bridge from the town centre which organises a regatta to Penton Hook in July for racing shells. Sunbury Skiff and Punting Club is the newest of all six which are quite clustered on the Thames, several of which incorporate dongola racing, dragon boat racing and canoeing. It organises an August regatta with fireworks.

In May the Staines 10k charity run takes place organised by two local running/'strolling' clubs and the council. One of the more than 720 nationwide 5,000-metre running competitions of the major organiser is around the rugby union club in its borders, which has a small nature reserve it owns to one end.[32]

Other venues hosting annual events in a range of sports are Kempton Park Racecourse and Staines Lammas Park.

Towns and villages

High Street in Staines-upon-Thames

The stated proportion of land that is absorbed by domestic dwellings tends to be housing with gardens forming suburbs to London and otherwise has mid rise urban town centres with exceptional offices (in Staines-upon-Thames) and apartments (in Sunbury-on-Thames) which are high rise, including a minority of the social housing.

The non-urban parts, inclusive of the embanked water retaining reservoirs, are today for the most part Spelthorne's parks and lakes. The bulk of the rest is mostly narrow buffering land being arable farming, horse-grazing meadows and sheep grazing on the reservoir embankments and fringes with Green Belt legal status. Shopping is available in each of the towns and in the village of Shepperton but not in the other small villages which are connected by road and bus to the nearby towns. Kempton Park Racecourse and Shepperton Studios are in Spelthorne. Staines is the largest town and has local government and judicial buildings. Each of the towns has libraries and schools.

In July 2017, Shepperton was named as the UK's most courteous town by the National Campaign for Courtesy.

List of towns and villages

Subsumed hamlets or manors

  • Kempton
  • Astleham: see Littleton, above and Queen Mary Reservoir, above.

Twinning

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ In Staines upon Thames post town. As with the first four places, these are ancient parishes, manors and were also in local services/improvements civil parishes from 1895 until 1974.[33]
  2. ↑ [34]
  3. ↑ Former hamlet of Stanwell. In Staines upon Thames post town. Its verges, grazing and hay meadow parts have mostly become part of Staines Moor from which they have been indivisible since the 1820s when both were inclosed (privatised) from an area of common land alongside the River Colne and later transferred to the local authority.[34]
  4. 1 2 Former hamlet of Sunbury-on-Thames. In Shepperton post town.[35]
  5. ↑ Covers a small area as covered most of the Queen Mary Reservoir. Of sporadic use: half-rural, half-suburban streets with trees and verges. The streets adjoin other housing across the Ash in Shepperton Green; within Shepperton post town and this is the home of Shepperton Studios.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Office for National Statistics
  2. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan District (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 17 November 2023
  3. ↑ London Government Act 1963
  4. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 January 2024
  5. ↑ "Hundred of Spelthorne | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Anna Powell-Smith. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey (County Boundaries) Order 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1994/330, retrieved 17 January 2024
  8. ↑ "No. 19904". The London Gazette. 13 October 1840. p. 2250.
  9. ↑ "Greater London Act 1999: Section 323", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1999 c. 29 (s. 323), retrieved 10 January 2024
  10. ↑ "No flood defence work for worst hit towns" Chris Caulfield. Surrey Advertiser/Surrey Herald newspaper group. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-02
  11. ↑ "Calls for Surrey towns to be part of London". BBC News. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014
  12. ↑ "Council minutes, 25 May 2023". Spelthorne Borough Council. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  14. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Pratley, Nils (19 September 2023). "Loose lending and inadequate auditing: central government's role in the local council disaster". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Phillips, Jamie (9 June 2020). "Six councillors quit Conservative Party at Spelthorne Borough Council saying membership 'untenable'". Surrey Live. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Coady-Stemp, Emily (26 May 2023). "New Spelthorne leader vows to put 'heart and soul' into role". Surrey Live. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "Spelthorne". BBC News Online. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  20. ↑ "Council minutes". Spelthorne Borough Council. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  21. ↑ Phillips, Jamie (9 June 2020). "Six councillors quit Conservative Party at Spelthorne Borough Council saying membership 'untenable'". Surrey Live. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  22. ↑ Davies, Gareth (26 June 2020). "Revealed: Deposed Spelthorne leader granted rent holiday to major tenant". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  23. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  24. ↑ "The Borough of Spelthorne (Electoral Changes) Order 1999", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1999/2479, retrieved 17 January 2024
  25. ↑ "Surrey County Council". London Gazette (45846): 14674. 8 December 1972. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  26. ↑ Spelthorne BC Archived 16 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Park and Open Spaces. Retrieved 2013-07-04
  27. ↑ Spelthorne BC Archived 8 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine Sports Facilities. Retrieved 2013-07-04
  28. ↑ SSSIs List and Management: Surrey Wildlife Trust.
  29. ↑ Staines National Rail
  30. ↑ "Land Use Statistics (Generalised Land Use Database) (2001 - 2005)". Office for National Statistics. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  31. ↑ When you need a licence www.gov.uk
  32. ↑ "Events | parkrun UK".
  33. 1 2 William Page, ed. (1911). "Ashford, Laleham, Littleton [and others outside of the borough]". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  34. 1 2 Susan Reynolds, ed. (1962). "Stanwell: Introduction". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  35. ↑ Susan Reynolds, ed. (1962). "Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury [and others outside the borough]". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  36. ↑ "Twinning with Melun, Île de France and Grand Port, Mauritius". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
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