Delivering change in Horley town centre

The Delivering Change in Horley Town Centre programme is a Council initiative that is supported by Surrey County Council, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership and Horley Town Council.

The programme will deliver a set of interrelated projects to regenerate the town centre and deliver the aspirations of the Council as set out in Reigate and Banstead 2025: our five-year plan – to invest in our town centres, drive economic prosperity, deliver affordable homes and work with partners to create strong, safe and welcoming communities.

There are four projects that form the programme:

1. Public realm improvements to the High Street
2. Refurbishing the subway between the High Street and Station Approach
3. Improvements to Central Car Park (formerly installation of pay-on-exit car parking in the town centre)
4. Redeveloping the High Street Car Park to provide new homes.

Public realm improvements to the High Street

Building on the public realm improvements in the precinct, this project will focus on the stretch of the High Street between the precinct and the pedestrian bridge over the railway. It aims to deliver a coordinated set of enhancements that will improve the look, feel and accessibility of the High Street. 

The proposed improvements include:

• Introducing one-way traffic on the High Street to create more space and a safer environment for pedestrians.
• Improved pedestrian connectivity and accessibility, improving pavements, widening footpaths and adding pedestrian crossings.
• Improved cycleways and cycle priority
• Landscape and streetscape improvements with new planting and trees
• New street furniture
• New signage and wayfinding

The public realm improvements will help the High Street to better serve local people and improve public perception and business confidence, which in turn will help to attract visitors and investment and contribute to the Council’s aim to regenerate the town centre.

The project will be delivered in partnership with Surrey County Council.

£600,000 of funding has been made available within Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s approved capital programme 2020-2025 to deliver the project and further funding has been committed from the Surrey Infrastructure Plan, Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy and UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Detailed design is complete and technical design work is now underway ready to start on site later this year.

See the latest plans

Refurbishing the subway

The refurbishment of the subway between the High Street and Station Approach is essential to make the subway easier to use for pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities by creating a safe, well-lit and more welcoming space, improve the condition of the structure and address drainage and flooding issues.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council are working with Network Rail to deliver the refurbishment of the subway.

The first phase of refurbishment works, undertaken by Network Rail, is now complete, with new pumps and drainage infrastructure installed to continue managing water level, and planned works to the rail track and deck above the subway.

The second phase of the work will be to refurbish the subway and will include structural work to the wing walls at the High Street entrance, improved lighting, redecoration, footway improvements and public art (see below). 

Horley subway art scheme proposal

Following local engagement and a creative workshop with young people at the YMCA, the commissioned artists, Acrylicise, have developed a series of artwork designs for installation on the subway walls.

View the designs on the Horley subway art scheme proposal webpage.

Improvements to Central Car Park

The landscaping and civil works to Central Car Park (formerly pay-on-exit car parking) are now complete. The first phase of works to improve the appearance and accessibility of the car park included line marking, pedestrian routes, resurfacing of the access road, installation of larger parking bays for families, new trees and shrubs. Electric vehicle charging points are installed and will be available for public use by summer 2025.

The improvements to Central Car Park are being delivered fully by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council with funding from  Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s approved capital programme, Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy and Coast to Capital Local Growth Fund.

See the latest plans

High Street Car Park redevelopment

The High Street Car Park presents the Council with an opportunity to deliver much-needed, affordable homes for local people, with a wider choice of tenure, type and size of homes. Contributing towards fulfilling a key objective of the Council’s Housing Delivery Strategy: to use Council assets to deliver additional housing via a housing-led scheme by providing well-designed homes that offer a choice of tenures and sizes. The development of this site could also enable the delivery of up to 1,500 sqm of flexible use space such as commercial, community, leisure and or employment uses.

The site is allocated in the Development Management Plan for a residential led mixed use development incorporating retail/leisure as part of policy HOR1.

The development of the car park is currently paused. The Council will revisit options for this site as part of its emerging development strategy.

Project costs and funding

The total estimated cost of the programme, excluding the redevelopment of the High Street Car Park (post feasibility), is approximately £3 million. The programme is fully funded through a variety of funding sources, including £1.29 million from the Council’s capital and revenue budgets and Section 106 developer contributions. Additional external grant funding includes £229,600 from the Coast to Capital LEP Local Growth Fund, and £23,375 Empty Property Reimbursement from Surrey County Council towards the installation of electric vehicle charge points in Central Car Park and £115,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for the public realm improvements, wayfinding and signage. Further support through the Surrey Infrastructure Plan and the Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy is also in place.

Find out more

Please contact regeneration@reigate-banstead.gov.uk for further information.