Driving Directions from Our Croydon Depot to Carshalton

• Waste carrier CBDU480663
• Operator licence OK2066087
• 20 cubic yards, up to 16 tonnes
• Fully insured, CPCS and CSCS

How long does the run from Croydon to Carshalton take?

Carshalton sits about 3.1 miles from our operating centre at Pear Tree Farm, Featherbed Lane, and a car covers that in roughly 10 minutes. It is one of the shortest runs we make, and that changes what is possible in a day. A grab lorry can tip, come back and reload without losing the morning, so a second or third load into SM5 is usually limited by how fast the material can be brought to the kerb, not by road time.

Treat 10 minutes as a car figure. A loaded eight-wheeler pulls away more slowly, brakes earlier and takes wider lines, so add roughly 15 to 20 per cent to any car journey time. All times given here are typical rather than guaranteed. Sutton’s Local Implementation Plan names Carshalton village, where the A232 passes through, as one of the borough’s major pinch points, and the last half mile can take longer than the three miles before it.

Which roads do we use?

1. Leave the yard at Pear Tree Farm, Featherbed Lane, Croydon CR0 9AA.
2. Pick up the A232 and follow it west as Carshalton Road, the east-west red route through the London Borough of Sutton.
3. Stay on the A232 into Carshalton village, the point the council’s own plan identifies as a congestion pinch point.
4. For sites towards The Wrythe, St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children, we run in on Wrythe Lane, SM5 1AA.
5. For the village itself, the approach is by Carshalton High Street, North Street or Pound Street, all part of the conservation area’s winding historic street pattern.
6. West Street and West Street Lane are the tightest lanes in the conservation area, and we check standing space there before committing a loaded vehicle.

What should a Carshalton site know about access?

The drive is short. The site is usually the harder half of the job. Carshalton grew up on the spring line at the foot of the North Downs and the centre kept its irregular historic layout, which the conservation area appraisal describes as suffering excessive traffic dominance, congestion, noise and vehicle emissions on the High Street. A crane reach of up to 7.5 metres from the side of the vehicle covers a great deal, but only if the lorry can stand somewhere legal and reasonably level while it works.

Two things are worth settling before you book. The first is whether your access sits behind one of Sutton’s camera-enforced restrictions, because those are enforced without a warning letter. The second is what the ground is likely to give you. Sutton’s Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment flags the north-western part of the borough, including Carshalton and Hackbridge, as at particular risk from elevated groundwater, and records the water table sitting 1m below ground level at Hackbridge where the Carshalton and Waddon branches of the River Wandle meet. Wet, sandy spoil loads heavier than dry material, which affects how many cubic yards go on before we reach the 16 tonne limit.

• Camden Road, Carshalton and Tweeddale Road, Carshalton are camera-enforced no-entry points, in force at any time.
• Tweeddale Road also has two camera-enforced pedestrian and cycle zone junctions under the council’s School Streets scheme, operating Monday to Friday during school hours.
• The London Lorry Control Scheme requires HGVs over 18 tonnes to hold permission to use restricted roads from 9pm to 7am Monday to Friday and from 1pm Saturday to 7am Monday, with a 550 pound operator penalty and a 130 pound driver penalty.
• The conservation area’s winding street pattern and the traffic dominance recorded on the High Street mean a standing position is worth agreeing in advance rather than on arrival.
• Sutton’s household reuse and recycling centre at Kimpton Park Way, off Oldfields Road, Sutton SM3 9QH does not accept trade waste, and the council states it is illegal to take trade waste there, so builders’ arisings from Carshalton leave with us on a transfer note instead.

Which postcodes does this route serve?

SM5

What work do we run between Croydon and Carshalton?

SM5 gives us a steady mix of muck away from extension and garden digs, rubble and hardcore collections off small demolition, and deliveries running the other way, mainly MOT Type 1, ballast, sharp sand and topsoil. Because the leg is so short, a delivery out and a collection back on the same visit is often practical rather than wishful. The service pages for Carshalton set out how each of those jobs is loaded and priced.

Frequently asked questions