Nestled between Tadworth and Crawley beneath the Surrey Hills National Landscape, sits the northern edge of Reigate, Surrey. Known for its history stretching back thousands of years from the paleolithic to the medieval, Reigate continues to thrive into the contemporary age. Owing to its proximity to both Gatwick Airport and London - the immediate commutability of Reigate offers unprecedented urban access burrowed in the green swathes of the Surrey Hills. The northern edge of Reigate, closest to the North Downs, features some of the most expensive houses throughout the locale with even a large equestrian facility currently on the market!

Reigate - first officially recorded as Cherchesfelle in the 1086 Domesday Book - has ancient history. First discovered in 1817 in Reigate Heath were a collection of Bronze Age Barrows - funerary monuments - dated to nearly 5,000 years ago! However, some evidence has suggested that the origins for the settlement date even further back to the Mesolithic period - between 8-5,000 years ago. Reigate continued to be a thriving settlement throughout the Roman occupation of Britain highlighted by the discovery of a Roman tile kiln in Doods Way dated to 92 AD. Tile-making was a huge part of Reigate’s success and prosperity and continued to be the major industrial trade of the town throughout the centuries!

Reigate was such an important area during the medieval period that it even had its own motte-and-bailey castle! Built some time during the 11th century, this timber-framed structure would have been a vital and important indicator of the prosperity of Reigate and also mapped the road from London to the southeast!

Owing to the placement of Reigate North, it is unlikely that development will be helmed in this local area. Given its location on the edge of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and proximity to vital Green Belt greenspace - the northern edge of Reigate is unlikely to receive influential infrastructural development. The spatial strategy of Reigate and Banstead’s local plan highlights a softer and increasingly sustainable approach to development in the Reigate area closer to the North Downs. However, the largest development of the town is set for south and southwest Reigate, with up to 700 new homes allocated for construction in the area!