Spelthorne | |
|---|---|
 Thames Street inSunbury-on-Thames | |
 Coat of arms | |
Mottoes:
| |
 Spelthorne shown within Surrey | |
| Coordinates:51°26′N0°30′W / 51.433°N 0.500°W /51.433; -0.500 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Surrey |
| Historic county | Middlesex |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district,Borough |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Admin HQ | Staines-upon-Thames |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Spelthorne Borough Council |
| • MPs | Lincoln Jopp |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.75 sq mi (51.16 km2) |
| • Rank | 250th(of 296)[1][better source needed] |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 107,074 |
| • Rank | 229th(of 296) |
| • Density | 5,421/sq mi (2,093/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code |
|
| OS grid reference | TQ045715 |
Spelthorne is alocal government district withborough status inSurrey, England. Its council is based inStaines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area includeAshford,Sunbury-on-Thames,Shepperton,Stanwell andLaleham. It is named after the medievalSpelthorne Hundred which had covered the area.
The borough is largely urban; although outside the boundaries ofGreater London, it is almost entirely inside theM25 motorway which encirclesLondon. The borough contains several large reservoirs, including theWraysbury Reservoir,Staines Reservoirs andQueen Mary Reservoir, which all supply fresh water to London and surrounding areas.
The neighbouring districts areElmbridge,Runnymede,Windsor and Maidenhead,Slough,Hillingdon,Hounslow andRichmond upon Thames, the latter three beingLondon boroughs.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering two former districts which were both abolished at the same time:[3]
These twourban districts had been part ofMiddlesex prior to 1965, when they had been transferred to Surrey on the creation of Greater London.[4] The new district was named after the medievalhundred of Spelthorne, which had covered the area plus adjoining parts of modern Greater London.[5][6] The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title ofmayor.[7]
The borough ceded a small amount of land in 1995, whenPoyle was transferred to Slough.[8] The Spelthorne area was included in theMetropolitan Police District from 1840 until 2000, when it passed toSurrey Police.[9][10]
Spelthorne remains part of the Church of EnglandDiocese of London and theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster. The rest of Surrey falls into the Anglican dioceses ofGuildford andSouthwark, and theRoman Catholic diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
Floods in 2014 caused internal damage to 891 (or 2.2%) of homes in Spelthorne due to record rainfallcausing Thames flooding. This compared to internal damage to more than 30% of homes in the neighbouring settlement ofWraysbury in the borough ofWindsor and Maidenhead.[11]
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.[12]
Spelthorne Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Joanne Sexton, Independent since 25 May 2023 | |
Daniel Mouawad since 8 September 2017 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 7 June 1973 |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
| Meeting place | |
 Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Spelthorne Borough Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided bySurrey County Council.[14] There are nocivil parishes in the borough, which is anunparished area.[15]
On 27 February 2024, Spelthorne Borough Council unveiled their Corporate Plan for 2024-2028, highlighting their key priorities for the next few years.[16]
As of 2023, the council had £1.1 billion in borrowing, with the highest borrowing to income ratio of any council in England.[17]
The council has been underno overall control since 2020.[18] Following the2023 election, independent councillor Joanne Sexton was appointed leader of the council, with Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Bateson serving as deputy leader.[19]
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:[20][21]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–2020 | |
| No overall control | 2020–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Spelthorne. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerry Ceaser[22][23] | Conservative | Nov 1995 | May 1997 | |
| Frank Davies[24][25] | Conservative | May 1997 | May 2005 | |
| Gerry Ceaser[26] | Conservative | 19 May 2005 | May 2007 | |
| John Packman[27] | Conservative | May 2007 | May 2011 | |
| Vivienne Leighton[28][29] | Conservative | 26 May 2011 | 23 February 2012 | |
| Frank Ayers[30][31] | Conservative | 23 February 2012 | 21 January 2013 | |
| Robert Watts[32][33] | Conservative | 24 January 2013 | 5 October 2015 | |
| Quentin Edgington[34][35] | Conservative | 22 October 2015 | 2 February 2016 | |
| Ian Harvey[36][18][37] | Conservative | 2 February 2016 | 9 June 2020 | |
| Independent | 9 June 2020 | 25 June 2020 | ||
| John Boughtflower[38][39] | Conservative | 25 June 2020 | 27 May 2021 | |
| Lawrence Nichols[40][41] | Liberal Democrats | 27 May 2021 | May 2022 | |
| John Boughtflower[42][19] | Conservative | 26 May 2022 | May 2023 | |
| Joanne Sexton[43][19] | Independent | 25 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was:[44]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 14 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | |
| Labour | 7 | |
| Independent | 5 | |
| Green | 1 | |
| Ind. Conservative | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | |
Five of the independent councillors sit together as the 'Independent Spelthorne Group', the other sits with the Conservatives. The next election is due in 2027.[45]
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Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 39councillors representing 13wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[46]
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.[47]
The borough council estimates it has 3.0 square kilometres (750 acres) of parks, including, from Shepperton upstream, theThames Path.[48] Its sixteen main parks with recreational/sports facilities[49] are supplemented by small greens and linear parks, such as those by theRiver Thames. The largest parks have woodland and flowering meadow. These support diverse and rare grasses, invertebrates and birds on a richalluvial soil:Laleham Park andSunbury Park.
The final great reduction of private parks was that of the early 20th century, a sale of Laleham manordemesne by theEarl of Lucan. TheJockey Club, as owner ofKempton Park Racecourse, is successor to thedomain ofthe lords of the manor of Kempton – about 40% is a large nature reserve with its internal two large ponds abutting theKempton Park ReservoirsSite of Special Scientific Interest, on Thamesflood meadow.
The borough has five reservoirs, covering more than 15% of land, which apart from their main use of ensuring a stable and energy-efficientdrinking 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 formergravel 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 isStaines Moor, which alongsideSheepwalk Lake and wetlands,Shepperton are the sites of special scientific interest (SSSI).[50]
Hospitality is widespread in the riverside towns. Sunbury and Staines town hubs are within 6 miles (10 km) of top UK attractions such asWindsor Castle,Thorpe Park,Hampton Court,Twickenham Rugby Stadium andKew Gardens.[citation needed]
Staines is the borough's main station, being served bySouth Western Railway services toLondon Waterloo,Reading andWindsor & Eton Riverside.[51]
A January 2005 enhanced base map study by theOffice 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:[52]
| Area | |
|---|---|
| Greenspace | 20.954 km2 (8.090 sq mi) |
| Water | 11.165 km2 (4.311 sq mi) |
| Domestic gardens | 8.495 km2 (3.280 sq mi) |
| Road | 3.919 km2 (1.513 sq mi) |
| Other land uses | 2.491 km2 (0.962 sq mi) |
| Domestic buildings | 2.403 km2 (0.928 sq mi) |
| Non-domestic buildings | 1.045 km2 (0.403 sq mi) |
| Path | 0.209 km2 (0.081 sq mi) |
| Rail | 0.134 km2 (0.052 sq mi) |
Two Rivers Retail Park and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines-upon-Thames.In 2016 there were:
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 andfootball are played at many pitches; the third, rugby union is played at theLondon IrishHazelwood Centre sharing pitches withLondon Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club in Sunbury.Staines Rugby Club play next to theFeltham-Hanworth-Sunburytripoint in Lower Feltham.
Spelthorne has twofootball clubs –semi- or non-professional – as the top men's sides compete in the lower leagues:
| Club | Ground |
|---|---|
| Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C | The 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,[53] from theThames Path National Trail and adjoining islands in Laleham and Staines as well as at lakes in Shepperton and Ashford. Onerowing club is in the borough, at Laleham, with others nearby includingStaines Boat Club acrossStaines Bridge from the town centre which organises a regatta to Penton Hook in July forracing shells. SunburySkiff andPunting Club is the newest of all six which are quite clustered on the Thames, several of which incorporatedongola racing,dragon boat racing andcanoeing. 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.[54]
Other venues hosting annual events in a range of sports areKempton Park Racecourse and Staines Lammas Park.
The stated proportion of land that is absorbed by domestic dwellings tends to behousing 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 thesocial housing.
The non-urban parts, inclusive of the embanked water retaining reservoirs, are today for the most partSpelthorne's parks and lakes. The bulk of the rest is mostly narrowbuffering land being arable farming, horse-grazing meadows and sheep grazing on the reservoir embankments and fringes withGreen 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 andShepperton 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.
Melun, France.
Grand Port, Mauritius.[58]
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