What it's like to live in Addlestone

Addlestone sits in a borough where owning is the norm. Across Runnymede, 66.4% of homes are owned and 19.1% are privately rented, leaving 12.9% social rented, which is below the England average of 17.1%. Council homes make up 8% and housing association homes 5%. So social tenancies here are relatively scarce, and that is worth knowing before you plan a move.

Runnymede Borough Council is the biggest social landlord with around 2,891 homes, followed by Southern Housing, A2Dominion South, Metropolitan Housing Trust and Accent Housing. Average weekly social rents in the borough for 2024/25 were about £117 for one bed, £141 for two and £152 for three.

The borough's housing register held 1,122 households at 31 March 2025, with 212 social homes let through the council in 2024-25 and 16 council homes swapped by mutual exchange. A register is not a simple queue. The numbers do show, though, that mutual exchange is a genuinely useful route into an area where lettings are limited.

There is a good cluster of primary schools very close in. Darley Dene Primary & Nursery and Sayes Court Primary are both within a third of a mile of the centre, with St Paul's Church of England Primary, Ongar Place Primary and The Holy Family Primary all under 0.6 miles. That means most Addlestone addresses have several realistic options rather than one. Check current admissions and Ofsted reports before you commit to anything.

For older children, Jubilee High School is half a mile away and Chertsey High School and Philip Southcote Secondary School are both under a mile. Heathside School and the independent St George's College, Weybridge are also nearby.

Outside school hours, Victory Park is the main draw, with tennis courts and community space, and Tyler Gardens Open Space is closer still for a quick run-around. Addlestone Library is a short walk from the centre for rainy days. Across the wider Runnymede area, 17.9% of residents are under 16, a shade below the England figure, so it is a reasonably family-heavy borough without being dominated by young children.

Addlestone station is about 0.4 miles from the centre, which for most people is a short walk. It puts you on the South Western network with connections towards London and around north Surrey. If it does not suit, Chertsey, Byfleet & New Haw and Weybridge stations are all within a couple of miles, and Weybridge in particular gives you more options.

Buses run from stops at Addlestone Railway Station, with further stops at Chertsey station, Charles Street and St Peter's Hospital. That last one matters if you have regular appointments and no car.

On foot, the town works well. The library, the supermarkets, the cinema and the community centre all sit within about half a mile of the centre, so a car is a convenience rather than a must. If you do drive, the town is well placed for the wider Surrey road network, though parking near the centre at busy times takes patience. Cycling is realistic for short local trips between Addlestone, New Haw and Chertsey.

For a town this size, Addlestone punches above its weight on entertainment. There are two cinema screens listed within a tenth of a mile of the centre, Addlestone One and The Light Addlestone, so a night out does not need a train fare.

Pubs are close at hand too, with The Holly Tree and The Waggon & Horses both within a short walk, plus restaurants around the centre. Runnymede Jazz Club adds something a bit different for live music, and there are bars further out towards Chertsey and Weybridge if you want to widen the night.

For daytime and fitness, there are gyms within easy reach, including Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness in the centre and Achieve Lifestyle's health and fitness centre half a mile out. Victory Park has tennis courts, and the War Memorial green space sits near the middle of town. Libraries at Addlestone, Chertsey, Weybridge and New Haw give you free indoor space and activities without going far.

Runnymede is a working borough. Across the council area, 58.4% of adults are in work, slightly above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment sits at 3.6%. The claimant rate for unemployment-related benefits was 2.6% of working-age people in August 2026, well below the England figure of 4%.

In practice that means a lot of people here commute. The station makes London and the wider Surrey job market reachable, and Chertsey, Weybridge and Woking are all short hops. Locally, the town centre shops, supermarkets, the cinema and the health and fitness sites provide retail, hospitality and service jobs.

Healthcare is another local employer of note, with the Runnymede Hospital in Chertsey and a cluster of health centres and practices around 1.4 miles away. If you rely on shift work with awkward hours, check the bus timetables from Addlestone station stops carefully before you swap, as evening services are thinner than daytime ones.