Thank you for applying for employment with Spelthorne Borough Council. This leaflet gives a brief guide to the Borough and to the conditions of service that apply. Further information can be obtained from Human Resources.
Spelthorne is one of the 11 Borough/District Councils in Surrey, which, together with Surrey County Council, provide local government services to over one million people. The Borough has a wide range of responsibilities and provides services such as planning, environmental health, electoral registration, Council tax collection, leisure and recreation, parks and open spaces, car parks, housing for the homeless and refuse collection. The Council is proud of the levels of satisfaction it achieves in the provision of these services. We received an “Excellent” rating from the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) in December 2003. We are rightly proud of the excellent CPA rating which was following a rigorous Audit Commission inspection, which included discussions with organisations, and individuals we work with closely such as The Police, Voluntary Sector, businesses, schools, health service and members of the general public. We are one of only 16% of Councils in the country so far who have been rated this highly.
We are a progressive, high performing local authority keen to provide an even higher level of service to local residents and businesses. We are particularly proud that Spelthorne has been awarded a number of prestigious national awards in recognition of our staffs’ achievements and our commitment to local services.
Chartermark Award for Excellence in Public Service A number of Spelthorne’s services have been awarded Chartermarks. The Housing Benefits and Council tax teams have recently received the award for the second time.
Investor in People Spelthorne has held the Investor in People award since 1992, in recognition of the commitment to the development and training of staff and to communication. The award covers the whole organisation, with Spelthorne being the first business in Surrey to be awarded IIP status for the third time.
A number of other services have gained external accreditation for their services and procedures including the legal service (Lexcel). The quality of the Council’s work in recent years in providing a comprehensive range of elderly services was recognised with the award of Beacon Council status for Independent Living for Older People. These awards are a credit to all our staff.
The CPA inspection commented, “The council have a dedicated and committed workforce. The Council demonstrates a commitment to staff welfare through its Human Resources practices and this supports staff morale”. Overall they found Spelthorne to be “an improving, forward-thinking Council” and that “good service are provided to local people”.
Councillors
Overall council policy and strategy is determined by 39 elected councillors for the Borough of Spelthorne, who represent a total of 13 electoral wards. The current political split of the councillors is:
31 Conservative
8 Liberal Democrats
Decision-making is via a one party cabinet structure.
Our key priorities
Our corporate priority themes are:
Community Safety
Younger People
Environment
Housing
Independent Living
Economic Development
Healthy Community
Community Engagement
In order to achieve these we need to ensure success at:
Sustainable Financial Future
Value for Money
Effective Communications
Developing Staff and Councillors
The Council will continue to deliver improved services to the local community and the process of identifying the new priorities has been one of clarifying and focusing on issues that are important to the local community.
The Borough Council’s mission is to continually improve the well being of the Spelthorne community and we are building upon our earlier successes. Over the past few years the Council has been focusing on the regeneration of Staines Town centre. We are currently looking at ways of further developing our work with our partners in Surrey County Council and the Primary Care Trust. So we will continue to develop and improve while at the same time focusing on the new priorities residents have identified as being important to them.
Our updated priorities and what we will be working towards in 2008/09 are:-
Community Safety
reduce theft of and from motor vehicles
tackle alcohol and related violent crime
crime prevention and reassurance
Young People
increase the level of satisfaction of young people living in Spelthorne
increase the number of hours/weeks young people spend in healthy activities
increase the satisfaction of the general population with the facilities available for younger people
Environment
improve local bio-diversity
encourage the early adoption of the Local Development Framework to help deliver the social, economic and environmental need of the Borough
use the Home Energy Conservation Act provisions to tackle fuel poverty issues, helping individuals improve the energy efficiency of their homes
boost our recycling rate to meet our statutory target
improve satisfaction with street scene issues
Housing
encourage the construction of sustainable new homes – particularly affordable homes that meet family needs
introduce a choice-based lettings scheme
increase the number of households prevented from becoming homeless
encourage regeneration schemes to improve the quality of housing in the Borough and to achieve integrated sustainable communities
Independent Living
supply meals on wheels to those that need it every day
provide a personal alarm service and telecare facilities to those in need
increase the provision of extra care housing in the Borough
facilitate the provision of day care activities to the frailer, older people in greatest need
ensure we have a concessionary fares scheme that is affordable and attractive to users
Economic Development
undertake initiatives to improve our unemployment rate
make best use of Spelthorne’s natural geographical advantages (close to London and major transport links) to improve our economic competitiveness
undertake initiatives that improve the employability of Spelthorne’s workforce
Healthy Community
encourage healthy lifestyles
promote positive mental health
Community Engagement
increase the level of influence local residents can have on decisions made that affect them
revitalise Ashford, Shepperton and Sunbury Cross centres through regeneration projects
Values
We will do our best to:
Operate with integrity, honesty and transparency,
Listen closely and communicate openly,
Strive for quality and excellence in all we do,
Provide equality of opportunity for all,
Treat our customers and staff with courtesy and fairness.
Employees
We currently employ approximately 350 staff, split between the Chief Executive’s Department, Community Directorate and Support Directorate. In addition we employ a number of occasional staff employed on a range of services including Sport and Leisure development
Spelthorne – the area
Spelthorne is located 15 miles west of Central London. It is bordered by the M25 to the west, the River Thames to the south and west, the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames to the east, and Heathrow Airport to the north. The Borough is at the inner edge of the Metropolitan Green Belt, with 45% of the Borough being urban and the remainder being protected as Green Belt. The principal towns are Staines, Sunbury, Ashford, Shepperton and Stanwell.
The area also includes 4 large reservoirs and Kempton Park racecourse. One of the main attractions of the Borough is the River Thames, and effort is constantly being made to preserve the river frontage and to improve the riverside amenities.
The area enjoys good communications to London and the southeast, via the M25, M3 and M4 motorway network and also by the excellent rail links (approx 30 minutes to London Waterloo), and of course Heathrow Airport is on the Borough’s doorstep. A sound commercial base, a Thames side location, easy access to London and open countryside, has all contributed to a quality of life, which has attracted many employers and people to the area.
Office Location
The main administrative offices are at Knowle Green, off the Kingston Road, Staines, and are sited in open ground near the Law Courts, Spelthorne Leisure Centre and Staines Park. The office building is attractive, modern and purpose-built, with ample staff car parking. The Council operates a ‘No Smoking Policy’ throughout the Council Offices. Knowle Green is approximately one mile from the town centre and within seven minutes walk from Staines railway station.
Property prices in Spelthorne
The Nationwide Building Society survey quotes the following average figures for the Outer Metropolitan Area. This is a guide only.
As a guide, the Nationwide Building Society survey quotes the following average figures for the Outer Metropolitan Area.
