Driving Directions from Our Croydon Depot to Reigate

• 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 Reigate take?

On paper Reigate is barely further than Redhill, about 10.7 miles from Pear Tree Farm, Featherbed Lane, and roughly 34 minutes in a car. In practice it is a different sort of journey, because Reigate sits below the North Downs escarpment and the approaches reflect that. The A23 and then the A25 Reigate Road come in on the level from the east, while the M25 junction 8 approach drops down the A217 Reigate Hill past Gatton Bottom and Wray Lane.

A loaded eight-wheeler adds roughly 15 to 20 per cent to a car journey time, and a sustained climb or descent on the escarpment is exactly the sort of ground where that gap widens rather than narrows. Times quoted are typical rather than guaranteed. M25 junction 8 is a known congestion point in its own right: National Highways records its improvement scheme as delivering almost 53,000 hours of journey time savings in the first year, and the works involve realigning the carriageway at Gatton Bottom and changing signal control, so the northern approach is worth checking before an afternoon return leg.

Which roads do we use?

1. Leave the operating centre at Pear Tree Farm, Featherbed Lane, Croydon CR0 9AA.
2. Head south on the A23.
3. Take the A25 Reigate Road west into the town, the level approach from the Redhill side.
4. From the motorway, M25 junction 8 leads onto the A217 Reigate Hill, which descends the escarpment past Gatton Bottom and Wray Lane.
5. Through the centre, the A25 runs as High Street from Bell Street to just west of the Park Lane junction, continuing east as Church Street.
6. The A217 Bell Street and Bancroft Road handle north-south movement across the town centre; the A25 West Street and Upper West Street lead out towards Buckland and Dorking.

What makes access in Reigate different?

Reigate funnels its traffic. The 1823 road tunnel on Tunnel Road, listed Grade II on 27 January 1989, no longer carries vehicles at all: it was closed to southbound motor traffic in 1954 and fully pedestrianised in April 1970. Everything moving between the High Street and London Road therefore uses the A217, which is also the section where Surrey County Council recorded 11 collisions on Bell Street over three years, the highest of the town-centre sections. A grab lorry standing on Bell Street is standing on the busiest road in the town, so the standing position and the time of day both need agreeing before the vehicle leaves the yard.

The material side is worth a conversation too. Reigate stands on the Wealden greensand ridge below the North Downs escarpment, and the borough council’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment records the central band around Reigate, Redhill and Merstham as underlain by Upper Greensand, Gault, Folkestone Beds, Sandgate Beds, Hythe Beds and Atherfield Clay, with permeability varying considerably and springs breaking out where permeable layers overlie less permeable ones. Excavated material can run from clean sand to sticky Gault clay within one site, and a mixed load is harder to place than a consistent one, so it helps to say what you are digging into.

• Surrey County Council has proposed a reduction from 30mph to 20mph on five town-centre sections: A25 Church Street from number 46 to Bell Street, A25 High Street from Bell Street to 4m west of Park Lane, all of A217 Bancroft Road, A217 Bell Street from Church Street to 109B Bell Street, and the 60m Morrisons access off Bell Street.
• The A25 between Dorking and Reigate was identified by the Road Safety Foundation as one of the worst A-road routes in the country for fatal and serious injuries per vehicle kilometre; the Safe System scheme has added average speed cameras, high containment kerbs at the Reigate bends and near the River Mole bridge, and central hatching to deter overtaking.
• The Grade II listed Tunnel Road tunnel carries no vehicles, so all through traffic between the High Street and London Road uses the A217.
• M25 junction 8 at Reigate Hill is a congestion hotspot, with carriageway realignment at Gatton Bottom and changes to signal control forming part of the National Highways scheme.
• Earlswood Community Recycling Centre, Horley Road, Earlswood, Redhill RH1 6PN is the nearest Surrey site; it is household only, business waste is not accepted, and van, pickup and trailer permits are valid at only nine Surrey sites.

Which postcodes does this route serve?

RH2

What work do we take on the Croydon to Reigate route?

Reigate work skews small and town-centre based. Albert Road North Estate is the only industrial estate the council lists in Reigate itself, so most of what we do in RH2 is domestic and light commercial: muck away from extensions and landscaping, hardcore and rubble off small demolition, and topsoil, shingle and MOT Type 1 going back the other way. Our Reigate service pages cover grab hire, muck away and topsoil supply in more detail.

Frequently asked questions