A MAJOR development scheme which will radically transform Redhill town centre will begin this spring.
Developers behind a new Waitrose store and 150 flats earmarked for the railway station site have announced work will begin in a matter of months.
By 2018, the gateway into the town will be transformed with a new supermarket, multistorey car park, one and two-bedroom homes and revamped station plaza.
With Sainsbury's regeneration of the Warwick Quadrant already under way, it marks an "exciting" time for the town, according to councillor and regeneration chief Natalie Bramhall.
She told the Mirror: "It's all really positive.
"For a long time it's been spoken about but now it's physically happening. It's all very exciting."
The new multistorey car park off Redstone Hill will be built first, as well as a revamped rear entrance to the station including taxi rank and disabled spaces.
Once completed, building firm BAM Construction will begin work at the front of the station.
Mrs Bramhall said: "They were supposed to start this quarter so the schedule has slipped a little bit but it will allow more time for the Balanced Network [new road layout] to settle in.
"In a couple of months everything will be in place. There will be grumbles from people about diggers but it's a necessary evil.
"I do believe at the end of it people will be able to turn around and see we have got nice shops and good supermarkets."
The £50 million station project will provide 450 spaces for commuters and 193 for Waitrose shoppers.
The development will also give the town a jobs boost, with more than 200 roles being created.
Meanwhile, the Sainsbury's expansion is on schedule with about 15 months of building work on the Lombard House site also set to start this spring.
The pedestrianisation scheme in Station Road is due to be completed next month, while the town centre's traffic flow will switch from one-way to two-way on February 15.
A planning application to bring a cinema and restaurant units to Marketfield Way is due in April.
Mrs Bramhall added: "We're a strategic transport hub in Redhill. We have all this investment coming forward. There's a huge amount of interest from retailers.
"With London Bridge station works, it will all be finishing at the same time and hopefully everything will slot into place."
