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The £600,000 plans to spruce up Ashford, Sunbury Cross and Shepperton are set to include new street furniture, more car parking and the creation of a BMX track or skate park.

At a Surrey county council local committee meeting, held on Monday, March 15, plans were presented which detailed how £200,000 would be spent on each of the towns to rejuvenate them.

The money, is to be spent on Church Road in Ashford, the High Street in Shepperton and the underpass in Sunbury Cross.

Spelthorne's prospective Conservative MP has joined the fight against replacing Heathrow airport with one in the Thames Estuary.

Eton educated Kwasi Kwarteng, who was voted in by borough residents at an American-style open primary at Kempton Park Racecourse in January this year, has spoken out against Mayor of London Boris Johnson's idea to create an artificial island for a six-runway airport off the Kent coast.

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.

A pensioner who was without heating for over a week due to the cold weather feels there could be others in the borough suffering.

Pauline Brennan, 61, of Lud Lodge, in London Road, Ashford first started feeling the cold when her boiler broke down on Sunday January 3.

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.

The Labour party have chosen their candidate for the up and coming 2010 general elections.

Adam Tyler-Moore beat four other Labour candidates, and believes he has a good chance of becoming elected.

An extra 200 police officers could be seen walking around the streets of Surrey in the near future.

Chief constable of Surrey Police Mark Rowley has said the force are looking to close police stations, make cuts of senior officers and lower bureaucracy as part of radical plans due to be discussed on December 10 with Surrey Police Authority.

An extremely rare brown shrike was spotted on Staines Moor prompting thousands of birdwatchers to drop everything and flock to the beauty spot over the last ten days to catch a view of the small brown spectacle. Herald & News reporter Russell Butt donned his wellies and grabbed his binoculars to see what all the fuss was about.

There's not many things more frustrating than when your holiday plans go awry.
So imagine the surprise of one small, brown bird who should be heading from Siberia to South East Asia for the winter, but has found himself perched atop a hawthorn bush in Staines.

Imagine its further surprise to instantly achieve celebrity status on arrival, with more camera lenses being pointed at it than Kate Moss gets stumbling out of a Soho nightclub.

A primary school will be holding a Christmas fair in November.

On Friday September 13, Echelford Primary School, in Park Road, will be holding a Christmas Craft and Gift fair for the 21st year running.

The evening starts at 6.30pm which will see more than 40 different stalls.
Entry is 50p.