Thanks everyone for all these points, it's brought up a few things I hadn't thought about. Not going to count anything in or out at the moment because I realise I still have so much to learn, I'm sure going out in person will help to clear things up. Just sitting at home on the computer is probably just going to lead to analysis paralysis.
@TopCat thanks for your offer, it's very kind, I'll PM you my contact details as I would be keen to take you up on it.
@Iceman I managed to miss that there is a hard runway at Redhill
I guess because it is unlicensed it doesn't show up in the AIP. Hopefully before too long I will have an actual flight guide so I don't miss things like that.
With regards to ATC vs A/G, I presume that which ever way I go it would be advisable to ask my future instructor to go for some trips over to the other type in order to gain experience of both. I like the idea of building up the experience with an ATC, but at the same time I'm also keen on avoiding delays and long circuit with the additional expense. Something to think about in the bigger picture.
@cotterpot for pointing that out, I'd thought that all Hobbs metres were triggered off engine oil pressure so in my head I had erroneously lumped it together with tacho time. I hadn't realised that some Hobbs metres get triggered by the master switch and found that Wikipedia also lists some other interesting methods. I've noticed that some schools advertise straight tacho time and some seem to advertise tacho time multiplied by ~0.8 so that's one to watch for.
Thanks for that info @QSD I'll definitely look into it properly. I had noticed that Cubair offer training on the DA20 and they do look to be quite shiny, I might have to come and have a look!