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Spelthorne/Melun Twinning
In May 1990 Spelthorne formed a twinning partnership with Melun in France. Melun, the county town of the Seine et Marne region, has a population of 40,000 and lies on the banks of the River Seine, 35 miles south-east of Paris. Melun Town Hall

It was chosen because it wished to twin with an English town, could be reached within a day, had similar features to Spelthorne and genuinely wanted to establish close links between all sections of our two communities.

Melun is a charming and attractive town with an excellent range of facilities including a sports complex, covered market, a University and indoor swimming pool. It has lovely old houses, plenty of shops and the churches of Notre Dame (11th Century) and St Aspais (15th Century). It is also close to the Barbizon, the charming village famous for it's art galleries and the 17th Century Vaux le Vicomte Chateau.

The essence of twinning is learning about other people's way of life, learning to speak their language and sharing educational and business knowledge as well as participating in cultural, sporting and recreational activities. In 2000 Spelthorne celebrated 10 very successful years twinned with Melun and during this time numerous local organisations, schools and individuals, have been involved with exchanges and many strong links and lasting friendships have been formed.

One particularly successful aspect of our link has been the exchange work placement scheme which offers young people aged 18 years and over the chance to work for up to three weeks in our respective communities enabling them to improve their language skills and sample a different way of life. The scheme has proved to be of great benefit to the students from Spelthorne and Melun.

The twinning scheme is administered by an Executive Committee comprising Borough Councillors and representatives of various organisations in the Borough. Their aim is to develop and promote the scheme to all sections of the community. The scheme is funded by the Borough Council and most of the funding is used to pay grants to help towards the cost of travel or hosting. If you think you might be eligible for a grant, or would like more information about any other aspects of the scheme, then please do not hesitate to contact any of the following members of the Twinning Committee who will be more than happy to assist: -

Name Representing Tel. No.
Mrs Jocelyne Ashton
(Vice-Chairman) 		Education 01784 254695
Councillor Michel Bouquet Spelthorne Borough Council 01784 241451
Mrs Elaine Williams Education 01784 461452
Peter Gold Business/Chambers of Commerce 01784 457633
Peter Langmead Rotary/Service Organisations 01932 562872
PC Vic Smith Spelthorne Police 01784 446632
Paul Stubbs Sport 01784 250345