It's difficult to tell wihout a close-up photo of the flowers but it might be osmanthus delavayi

Don't think it is Osmanthus, Andrew, it looks like Prunus padus but that would be bigger. Not Exochorda? Close up would sort it.

Foliage, bark, and flowers are all consistent with a Prunus. Osmanthus has opposite leaves (in pairs) and Exochorda has flowers closer to the branches, while these look like racemes hanging from last years growth.

I'd go with prunus padus too - I know what you mean about its shape and size, vincent, but its possible the owners have pruned it periodically. there's one out near where I live currently, looks like a small tree, but I can't smell it cos I've got some horrible virus which has, temporarily I hope, left me in a universe which has no scent, smell or taste...

Can't say I would have called Prunus padus 'sweet scented', I dislike the smell intensely.

It is almond scented according to the RHS.

I think that's a case of 'one man's meat...' Vincent. I still can't smell anything, so can't comment on its scent.

Ah! Almond, that's why I don't like it. My mother always iced cakes with almond icing and I hated the smell since then. Weird.

Thanks for your interesting replies. This shrub was in a public space, in a shrubbery, part of a housing estate open space. So it may have been pruned by contractors with their equipment, which may have kept it shrublike. The leaf seems to match my close up which I thought I had included. The flowers are racemes. I go with the Prunus Padus opinion.