London Irish

London Irish RFC are looking to move their facilities to a much bigger site in Sunbury. To pay for the move, they want to redevelop their existing site, off The Avenue, for residential use. Yesterday and today, there was a chance to see the plans and talk to them about them. What is clear to me from my visit this afternoon, is that the local area cannot sustain this development. Local people already know that their GP surgery is overstretched, they have problems with speeding, and the traffic at certain times of day in the area is terrible. Sunbury Cross grinds to a halt all the time. There are too many houses squeezed onto the site. The Labour Government have long guided local authorities into higher density housing than people want, but Spelthorne council have an astonishing record of allowing overdevelopment. Residents told me exactly what they thought whilst I was there. I believe that local residents will reject these plans, and I will support them. I hope London Irish and the council listens.