|
Results for Crawley
|
On this page:
|
| Borough of Crawley | |
|---|---|
 Shown within West Sussex |
|
| Geography | |
| Status: | Borough |
| Region: | South East England |
| Historic County: | Sussex |
| Admin. County: | West Sussex |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 308th |
| Admin. HQ: | Crawley |
| ONS code: | 45UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2006 est.) - Density |
Ranked 223rd 99,900 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 88.5% White 8.3% S.Asian 1.1% Afro-Carib. |
| Politics | |
 Crawley Borough Council http://www.crawley.gov.uk/ |
|
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative |
| MP: | Laura Moffatt |
Crawley is a town and local government district in
West Sussex, England, United Kingdom. Situated 28 miles (45 km) south of London, 18 miles (30 km) north of
Although the area was inhabited from the Stone Age onwards, and was a centre of iron-making in Roman times, Crawley developed slowly as a market town until the Second World War. The area was designated as the site of one of the "new towns" proposed by the New Towns Act 1946, however, and rapid development ensued — with the growth of nearby Gatwick Airport adding to this.
The town comprises 13 planned "neighbourhoods" (residential areas), separated by main roads and railway lines, and based around the core of the old market town. The nearby communities of Ifield, Pound Hill and Three Bridges were absorbed into the new town. Some expansion is currently planned for the west and northwest boundaries of the town, in co-operation with Horsham District Council.[1]
Crawley has its origins in Stone Age settlements some 7,000 years ago.[2] Evidence of habitation in the region includes Neolithic tools, Roman ironworks and even a Bronze Age sword.[3]
There is some evidence that the area was settled in the Mesolithic period, with examples of locally-manufactured flints of the Horsham Culture type found to the south-west of the town. Evidence also exists of Bronze Age burial mounds just to the south of the town, suggesting some habitation in that period. Other finds suggest continued habitation through Roman times.[3]
In the 5th Century, Saxon settlers gave the area its name of Crow's Leah — meaning a crow-infested clearing, or Crow's Wood[3] — although the name changed considerably over time, with the present spelling arriving by the early 14th Century.[2] By this time, nearby settlements were more established, with the Saxon church at Worth dating from around 1000.
In the Domesday Book, while the town itself is not mentioned, both Ifield and Worth are recorded. The first written record of Crawley is found in the granting of a right to hold a market in the town in 1202. Issued by King John, this allowed for a weekly market on Wednesdays.[4] As time passed, the importance of the town grew slowly, boosted in the 18th Century by the popularity of Brighton; Crawley prospered as a coaching halt offering an almost hourly service to Brighton and London.[3][5] The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th Century, expanded over the years to take over adjacent buildings and become a large coaching inn. The increase in Brighton's popularity, and Crawley's location halfway between it and London, meant that an annexe had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s.[6] Now known as the George Hotel, it retains many original features, including an iron fireback, and has conference facilities and 84 bedrooms.[7][8]
Crawley's oldest church is St John the Baptist, between the High Street and the Broadway. It has 13th-century origins,[9] but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part now remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th-century. The church has a tower (originally 15th-century, but rebuilt in 1804) containing two bells cast in 1742.[10]
The railways first came to Crawley by way of the Brighton Main Line passing through a station at Three Bridges in the summer of 1841. At first this station was known as East Crawley,[11] but the opening of the Horsham branch in 1848 allowed a new Crawley railway station to be built more centrally, at the southern end of the High Street. This development was soon followed by the opening of the line to East Grinstead in 1855. By this stage, Three Bridges was becoming the hub of transport in the area, with one-quarter of its population being employed in railway jobs by 1861 (mainly at the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's railway works near the station);[12] but once the line reached Crawley itself, transport for both people and commodities was much improved. The locally-famous Longley family set up business alongside the line in 1881; at this time, the town experienced a major expansion in housebuilding, including the creation of an area known as "New Town" (unrelated to the postwar developments) around the railway level crossing and down the Brighton Road.[3][12]
During the Victorian period the town continued to grow, with considerable building in the area of West Green and a lesser amount south of the railway in what is now Southgate. In 1891, a racecourse was opened, with the Grand National being held there during the years of the First World War.[2]
As the 20th century arrived, considerable development continued around the town centre. Additionally, land near the racecourse at Gatwick was developed as an airfield, opening in 1930. The airport continued as a private concern until the Second World War when it was claimed by the Royal Air Force.[2] Around this time, many of the large 19th-century country estates in the area, with their mansions and associated grounds and outbuildings, were split up into smaller plots of land which attracted haphazard housing development and small farms.[12]
By the First World War, Crawley had matured into a small but prosperous town, serving a wide rural area as well as its own population and those passing through on the A23 London–Brighton road; three-quarters of the population had piped water supplies, all businesses and homes had electricity, and piped gas and street lighting had been in place for 50 years.[12]
The area around Crawley was officially identified as a suitable location for a New Town in May 1946, but not officially designated as such until 9 January 1947. At the time of designation, the 5,920 acres (2,395 hectares) of land set aside for the new town were split across the county borders between East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey. Architect Thomas Bennett was appointed as the chairman of the Development Corporation for the town. A court challenge to the designation order meant that plans were not officially confirmed until December 1947. By this time, an initial plan for the development of the area had been drawn up by planner Anthony Minoprio.[13] The plans sought to fill in the gaps between the villages of Crawley, Ifield and Three Bridges to form a larger town population.[14] At the time, Bennett estimated that planning, designing and building the town, and increasing its population from the existing 9,500, would take 15 years.[15]
Work began almost immediately, preparing the groundwork for the expansion of the town, with a full master plan in place by 1949. This plan saw an extension in the planned population of the town from 40,000 to 50,000, with residential properties shared between 9 neighbourhoods radiating from the town centre, and a separate industrial area to the north of the town.[13] The plans for the neighbourhoods included mainly 3-bedroom family homes, with a number of smaller and larger properties. Each neighbourhood was to be built around a centre which contained shops, a church, a public house, a primary school and a community centre.[14] Secondary education was to be provided at three campuses across the town at Ifield Green, Three Bridges and Tilgate.[16] Later, a fourth campus was added to the plans in Southgate for the building of Roman Catholic schools.[17]
Development began quickly in the town, although at first no town centre building was begun — the existing high street being used for shopping. Earliest progress was in West Green with residents moving in during the late 1940s. In 1950 the town was visited by the then heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth, when she officially opened the Manor Royal industrial area. Work continued eastwards in the town, with building taking place in West Green, Northgate, Three Bridges, and then more widely in Langley Green, Pound Hill and Ifield.[13]
As early as 1956, it was clear that the original proposals for a population of 40,000 were insufficient to match the growth of the town, and so land at "Tilgate East" was allocated for housing use, eventually becoming the new neighbourhood of Furnace Green.[13]
Developments in the town centre saw the planning of extended shopping facilities to the east of the existing high street. The first stage to open was The Broadwalk in 1954, following by the official opening of the Queen's Square development by Her Majesty The Queen in 1958. Crawley railway station was moved eastwards towards the new development.[13]
The provision of public services was made in co-operation with the local authorities, who oversaw the opening of a fire station in 1958, the telephone exchange, police station and town centre health clinic in 1961 and the ambulance station in 1963. Plans for a new hospital on land at the Hawth were abandoned, however, and the hospital was redeveloped on its existing site.[13] Gas was initially supplied by pipelines from Croydon, 20 miles (32 km) away, while the town's water supply came from the Weir Wood reservoir south of East Grinstead.[18]
By April 1960, when Thomas Bennett made his last presentation as chairman of the Development Corporation, the town's population had reached 51,700; 2,289,000 ft² (212,650 m²) of factory and other industrial space had been provided; 21,800 people were employed, with nearly 60% of jobs being in manufacturing industry; and only seventy people were registered as unemployed. The Corporation had built 10,254 houses, with around 1,500 more being constructed by private builders. The Corporation permitted residents to buy their houses, and 440 householders had chosen to do so by April 1960.[15]
With the success of early developments, a new plan was put forward by West Sussex County Council in 1961. This proposed new neighbourhoods at Broadfield and Bewbush, both of which extended outside the administrative area of the then Urban District Council. Plans were drawn up for Broadfield in the late 1960s, with some development in place by the early 1970s. Further expansion at Bewbush was begun in 1974, although development here was slow. The two neighbourhoods were both larger than previous ones, with a combined proposed population of 23,000. Work also took place in the area now known as Ifield West on the western fringes of the town.[19]
As early as 1980, the council identified land at Maidenbower as being suitable for further expansion of the town to accommodate the growing population, and work began in 1986. However, all of the development at Maidenbower was undertaken privately, unlike the previous developments which had included largely council-owned accommodation.[19]
In 1999, plans were in place to develop a fourteenth neighbourhood on land at Tinsley Green to the northeast of the existing town. However, these were halted due to proposals for possible expansion at Gatwick Airport.[20] Discussions are now underway in co-operation with Horsham District Council for possible location of new housing on Crawley's western fringes.[1]
Crawley Urban District Council was formed in April 1956 after the beginning of the development of the new town. It was formed from that part of the Horsham Rural District which fell within the new town's area. Changes under the Local Government Act 1972 saw the district formed as a borough in April 1974, gaining a mayor for the first time.
The borough was awarded a coat of arms later in 1974. The coat of arms features a central cross on the shield, representing the town's location at the meeting point of north-south and east-west roads. The shield also features 9 martlets representing both the county of Sussex and the new town's original 9 neighbourhoods. Supporters, of an eagle and a winged lion, relate to the significance of the airport to the locality. The motto featured is I Grow and I Rejoice.[21]
Initially the district (and then borough) council worked with the Commission for the New Towns on many aspects of development, but in 1978, many of the commission's assets, such as housing and parks, were surrendered to the local authority. The authority's boundaries were extended in 1983 to allow for increasing development in Bewbush and Broadfield.[22]
The borough remains part of the local two-tier arrangements, with services shared with West Sussex County Council. The authority is divided into 15 wards, each of which is represented by two or three local councillors, forming a total council of 37 members. Most wards are coterminous with the borough's neighbourhoods, but two neighbourhoods are divided: Broadfield into North and South wards, and Pound Hill into "Pound Hill North" and "Pound Hill South and Worth". The council is elected in thirds.[23]
As of the 2007 local elections, the authority is Conservative-controlled, with seats allocated as follows:
| Political Party | Seats held |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 22 |
| Labour | 12 |
| Liberal Democrat | 3 |
The party gained control in May 2006 for the first time since the creation of the borough. In previous years the authority had always been Labour controlled.[24]
Crawley Borough is also coterminous with the parliamentary constituency of Crawley. The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Laura Moffatt, a member of the Labour Party and currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson.[25] The constituency is held with the slimmest majority as of the 2005 General Election, with Laura Moffatt winning by just 37 votes.[26]
Since 1973, Crawley has been twinned with Dorsten, Germany.[27]
Crawley lies in the Weald between the North and South Downs. Two geological beds of sedimentary rocks meet in the town, with the eastern neighbourhoods and the town centre lying largely on Hastings Sand, while the bulk of the town to the north and west is based on the Weald Clay.[28] The town has no major waterways, although a number of smaller brooks and streams are tributaries for the River Mole which rises near Gatwick Airport and runs northwards to the River Thames. There are several lakes at Tilgate Park, and a mill pond at Ifield, which was stopped to feed the Ifield Mill.[29] The land to the south of the town, in the then much extended Tilgate Forest, saw the discovery of the first bone of an Iguanodon in 1822, near Cuckfield.[30]
Crawley has a temperate climate in common with most areas of Great Britain: its Koppen climate classification is Cfb. Its mean annual temperature of 9.6 °C is similar to that experienced throughout the Weald, and slightly cooler than nearby areas such as the Sussex coast and Greater London.[31] Rainfall is considerably below England's average (1971–2000) level of 838 mm, and every month is drier overall than the England average.[32]
The nearest weather station is at Gatwick Airport.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There are 13 residential neighbourhoods, each consisting of a variety of housing types: terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, low-rise flats and bungalows. The clay soil beneath Crawley made high-rise "tower block" developments of flats relatively unattractive due to the cost of stabilising the ground. Each neighbourhood is based around a shopping parade, community centre and church, with schools and areas of open space also available. The Development Corporation's intention was for neighbourhood shops to cater only to basic needs, with the town centre to be used for most shopping requirements, and the number of shop units provided in the neighbourhood parades reflected this: despite the master plan making provision for at least 20 shops in each neighbourhood,[33] the number actually built ranged from 19 in the outlying Langley Green neighbourhood to just seven in West Green, close to the town centre.[15]
Each of the 13 residential neighbourhoods is identified by a colour, which is shown on street name signs in a standard format throughout the town: the street name is displayed in black on a white background, with a coloured strip below it bearing the name of the neighbourhood in white text.[34]
| Number on map |
Name | Construction commenced[19] |
Population[35] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langley Green | 1952 | 7,286 |
| 2 | Northgate | 1951 | 4,407 |
| 3 | Pound Hill | 1953 | 14,716 |
| 4 | Maidenbower | 1987 | 8,070 |
| 5 | Furnace Green | 1960 | 5,734 |
| 6 | Tilgate | 1955 | 6,198 |
| 7 | Broadfield | 1969 | 12,666 |
| 8 | Bewbush | 1975 | 9,081 |
| 9 | Ifield | 1953 | 8,414 |
| 10 | West Green | 1949 | 4,404 |
| 11 | Gossops Green | 1956 | 5,014 |
| 12 | Southgate | 1955 | 8,106 |
| 13 | Three Bridges | 1952 | 5,648 |
There are also some areas which are not neighbourhoods but which are closely associated with Crawley:
| Year | Population[38] |
|---|---|
| 1901 | 4,433 |
| 1921 | 5,437 |
| 1941 | 7,090 |
| 1961 | 25,550 |
| 1981 | 87,865 |
| 2001 | 99,744 |
At the last official census in 2001, the population of Crawley was recorded at 99,744, of which 51% were female.[39] This accounted for 13.2% of the population of the county of West Sussex. The growth in population has outstripped that of most similarly-sized settlements since the coming of the new town, with population growth at around 1,000% in the fifty-year period 1951–2001,[38] compared to growth of just 99% in the neighbouring district of Horsham.[40]
The borough has a younger and more ethnically diverse population than that of the wider county, with approximately 64.5% of the population aged below 45, compared to 55% of the population of West Sussex as a whole, and 15.5% coming from a ethnic background other than White British, compared to just 6.5% throughout the county. People of Indian and Pakistani origin account for 4.5% and 3% of the population respectively.[41][42]
The borough has a population density of around 22 persons per hectare,[43] making it the second most-densely populated district in West Sussex, after Worthing. The social mix is similar to the national norm, with around 50% falling into the ABC1 social category,[44]although this varies by ward, with just 44% in Broadfield North[45] compared to 75% in Maidenbower.[46]
The number of people in the borough with higher education qualifications is lower than the national average, with around 14% having a qualification at level 4 or above, compared to 20% nationally.[47]
| Labour Profile[48] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total employee jobs | 79,700 | |
| Full-time | 58,100 | 72.9% |
| Part-time | 21,600 | 27.1% |
| Manufacturing | 7,500 | 9.4% |
| Construction | 1,800 | 2.2% |
| Services | 70,100 | 87.9% |
| Distribution, hotels & restaurants | 19,600 | 24.6% |
| Transport & communications | 23,900 | 30.0% |
| Finance, IT, other business activities | 15,400 | 19.3% |
| Public admin, education & health | 9,600 | 12.1% |
| Other services | 1,600 | 2.0% |
| Tourism-related | 6,600 | 8.3% |
Before the new town was developed, Crawley traded as a traditional market town. Plans were soon in place to develop the town as a centre for manufacturing, and light engineering, with a dedicated and purpose-built industrial zone.[49] In time, this industry developed to encompass newer technologies, and the rapid growth of Gatwick Airport provided further opportunities. The significance of the airport in terms of local employment and enterprise is recognised in the formation of the Gatwick Diamond partnership which recognises the airport as a hub of employment and economic growth.[50]
During the boom of the 1980s the town boasted the lowest level of unemployment in the UK.[51] Unemployment has been typically low in the town, with rates at around 1.47% of the working-age population in 2003.[52] However, there are some discrepancies in areas of under-supply, with the Banking and Finance fields having the greatest numbers of vacancies.[49]
By the time the new town was developed, Crawley was already a modest industrial centre. Building was an important trade, with 800 people being employed by building and joinery firms — two, Longley's and Cook's, were large enough to have their own factories.[12] In 1949, 1,529 people worked in manufacturing, with light and precision engineering and aircraft repair being the main industries. Many of the jobs in these industries were highly skilled.[12][33]
Industrial development had to take place relatively early in the life of the new town because part of the Corporation's remit was to move people and jobs out of an overcrowded and war-damaged London, and industrial jobs were needed as well as houses and shops to create a balanced community where people could settle.[53] The Development Corporation wanted the new town to support a large and mixed industrial base, with factories and other buildings based in a single zone rather than spread throughout the town. A 267-acre (108-hectare)[53] site in the northeastern part of the development area was chosen; its advantages included flat land with no existing development; proximity to the London–Brighton railway line, the A23 and the planned M23; space for railway sidings (which were eventually built on a much smaller scale than envisaged); and an adjacent 44-acre (18-hectare) site reserved for future expansion, on the other side of the railway line (again, not used for this purpose in the end). Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) opened the first part of the industrial area on 25 January 1950;[4] its main road was named Manor Royal, and this name eventually came to refer to the whole estate.[33]
The Corporation stipulated that several different manufacturing industries should be developed, rather than allowing one sector or firm to dominate. It did not seek to attract companies by offering financial or other incentives; instead, it set out to create the ideal conditions for industrial development to arise naturally, by providing large plots of land with room for expansion, allowing firms to build their own premises or to rent ready-made buildings, and constructing a wide range of building types and sizes.[33][12]
Despite the lack of direct incentives, many firms applied to move to the Manor Royal estate: it was considered such an attractive place to relocate to that the Development Corporation was able to choose between applicants to achieve the ideal mix of firms, and little advertising or promotion had to be undertaken. One year after Manor Royal was opened, eighteen firms were trading there, including four with more than 100 employees and one with more than 1,000.[33] By 1964, businesses which had moved to the town since 1950 employed 16,000 people; the master plan had anticipated between 8,000 and 8,500. Nearly 20,000 were employed in 105 "new" firms in 1978.[33][12]
While most of the new jobs created in the new town's early years were in manufacturing, the tertiary sector developed strongly from the 1960s onwards. The Manor Royal estate, with its space, proximity to Gatwick and good transport links, attracted airport-related services such as logistics, catering, distribution and warehousing; and the Corporation and private companies built many offices throughout the town. Office floorspace in the town increased from 55,000 ft² (5,100 m²) in 1965 to a conservative estimate of 453,000 ft² (42,000 m²) in 1984;[33] this figure has risen further since then. Major office developments during these years included premises for the Westminster Bank (later part of NatWest), British Caledonian, and The Office of the Paymaster-General — a government ministry within the remit of HM Treasury.[33] The five-storey Overline House above the railway station, completed in 1968, is used by Crawley's NHS Primary Care Trust and various other companies.[54][55]
Major employers based in the town as of 2007 include Thales Group, Doosan Babcock Energy, GlaxoSmithKline, Virgin Atlantic Airways and its associated travel agency Virgin Holidays, Barclaycard and the Office of the Paymaster-General. Also, British Airways took over British Caledonian's headquarters, near the Manor Royal estate, renamed it "Astral Towers" and based its British Airways Holidays division there.[56]
Even before the new town was planned, Crawley had some local importance as a retail centre: there were 177 shops in the town in 1948,[12] 99 of which were on the High Street.[33] Its significance grew as the Corporation developed the town centre as a major shopping venue: 150 new shops were provided on previously mostly undeveloped land to the east of the High Street and north of the railway line.[53] Its main intention was to integrate the town centre development closely with the surrounding residential neighbourhoods, so that relatively few (and basic) shops would be required in the neighbourhoods themselves, and to maintain the character and ambience of the old High Street.[15][53]
Early new town residents relied on the existing shopping facilities until the building of The Broadwalk in 1954, with 23 shops, and then the Queen's Square complex and surrounding streets in the mid-1950s.[19]. Queen's Square, a pedestrianised plaza surrounded by large shops and linked to the High Street by The Broadwalk, was officially opened in 1958 by Queen Elizabeth II.[12] The town centre was completed by 1960, by which time Crawley was already recognised as an important regional, rather than merely local, shopping centre.
Developments between the 1960s and the 1980s included the opening of large branches of Tesco (Britain's largest at the time), Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer; and an expansion southeastwards from Queen's Square, providing a pedestrianised link (The Martlets) and several large shop units — although the original plans of 1975 were scaled back.[33] The remaining land between this area and the railway line was sold for private development by 1982;[33] this came to fruition in 1992, when a 450,000 ft² (41,800 m²)[57] shopping centre named County Mall was opened.[58] The mall is home to major retailers such as Debenhams, Boots, W H Smith and British Home Stores as well as over 80 smaller outlets.[59] The town's main bus station was redesigned, roads including the main A2220 Haslett Avenue were rerouted, and some buildings at the south end of The Martlets were demolished to accommodate the mall.
A regeneration strategy for the town centre, "Centre Vision 2000", was approved in 1992.[60] Many parts of the town centre have seen changes, and there have been two large retail developments in particular: 50,000 ft² (4,650 m²) of additional retail space in Queen's Square and The Martlets, and a mixed-use development at the southern end of the High Street, on land formerly occupied by Robinson Road (which was demolished) and Spencers Road (shortened and severed at one end). An ASDA superstore, opened in September 2003, forms the centrepiece.[61] Robinson Road, previously named Church Road, had been at the heart of the old Crawley: a century before its demolition, its buildings included two chapels, a school, a hospital and a post office.[62]
There are plans to expand Crawley's central shopping area, on to land currently occupied by the Town Hall and office buildings. The borough council's premises would be moved to a new site — possibly the land currently occupied by Sussex House — and The Boulevard developed into a large pedestrianised shopping area with one large store at its core.[63] [64] This development would be designed to make Crawley a major regional shopping destination.
Crawley's early development as a market town was helped by its location on the London–Brighton turnpike. The area was joined to the railway network in the mid-19th century; and since the creation of the new town, there have been major road upgrades (including a motorway link), a guided bus transit system and the establishment of an airport which has become one of Britain's largest and busiest.
The London–Brighton turnpike ran through the centre of Crawley, forming the High Street and Station Road. When Britain's major roads were classified by the British government's Ministry of Transport between 1919 and 1923,[65] it was given the number A23. This was bypassed first by a new dual carriageway in 1939 (which forms the A23's current route through the town), and then later to the east side of the town by the M23 motorway, which was opened in 1975. This connects London's orbital motorway, the M25, to the A23 at Pease Pottage, at the southern edge of Crawley's built-up area. The original single-carriageway road A23 is now numbered the A2219.
As well as the junction (11) at Pease Pottage, where the motorway ends, the M23 has junctions in the Crawley area at Maidenbower (10A) and the A2011/A264 (10). The A2011, another dual-carriageway, joins the A23 in West Green, and provides a link, via the A2004, to the town centre. The A2220 follows the former route of the A264 through the town, linking the A23 directly to the A264 at Copthorne, from where it then runs to East Grinstead.
The first railway line in the area was the Brighton Main Line, which opened as far as Haywards Heath on 12 July 1841. It ran through Three Bridges, which was then a small village east of Crawley, and a station was built to serve it.
A line to Horsham, now part of the Arun Valley Line, was opened on 14 February 1848, with a station being provided at Crawley from that date. This was built next to the High Street. A new station was constructed slightly to the east, in conjunction with the Overline House commercial development, and replaced the original station which closed on 28 July 1968. The ticket office and Up platform waiting areas form the ground floor of the office building.[66]
Ifield railway station is also within the Crawley urban area. Opened as Lyons Crossing Halt on 1 June 1907 to serve the village of Ifield, it was soon renamed Ifield Halt, dropping the "Halt" suffix in 1930.
Regular train services run to London Victoria and London Bridge stations, Gatwick Airport, Croydon, Tunbridge Wells, Horsham, Bognor Regis, Chichester and Portsmouth. Three Bridges has direct links with Brighton.
Early bus routes in the town were provided from services in London and Surrey. With the break up of the National Bus Company, local services were provided by London Country, later part of the Arriva group. Since March 2001, the majority of local bus services in Crawley have been operated by Metrobus, following their acquisition of garaging from the Arriva group who ceased operations from Crawley at that time.[67] The company operates local services between the neighbourhoods and town centre, as well as longer-distance routes to Horsham, Redhill, Tunbridge Wells, Worthing and Brighton.[68]
In addition, in September 2003 the new Fastway guided bus service began operating between Bewbush and Gatwick Airport.[69] A second route, from Broadfield to the Langshott area of Horley, north of Gatwick Airport, was added on 27 August 2005.[70]
Gatwick Airport was originally opened as a private airfield in the 1930s. It was used during the Second World War as an RAF base, returning to civil use in 1946. There were proposals to close the airport by the late 1940s, but these were altered. It closed in 1956 to enable it to be rebuilt as a second airport for London. The new airport was opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 9 June 1958. A second terminal, the North Terminal, was opened in 1988.[71] An agreement exists between BAA plc and West Sussex County Council preventing the building of a further runway until 2019. Nevertheless, consultations were launched in 2002 by the Department for Transport which included possible proposals for the building of additional facilities and runways at the airport. The result of the consultation was to preclude any further expansion at Gatwick unless it was impossible to meet growth targets at London Heathrow Airport within existing pollution limits.[72]
There were many sports clubs which predated the new town. Crawley Town F.C., formed in 1896, was given a home in the new town at Town Mead adjacent to the West Green playing fields. However, as the success of the club grew, so did the demand for land near the town centre for commercial and residential development. This resulted in the opening of the new Broadfield Stadium in 1997. Owned by the borough council, the ground is now the home territory for the club.[73] Crawley also plays host to a rugby club as well as many other sporting clubs and organisations. A golf course was constructed in 1982 at Tilgate Park.[74]
Early sporting facilities in the new town were provided at the original Crawley Leisure Centre in Haslett Avenue in the Three Bridges neighbourhood. Building work started in the early 1960s, with a large swimming pool opening in 1964. The site was extended to include an athletics arena by 1967, and an additional large sports hall was opened by the town mayor, Councillor Ben Clay, and Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1974.[75] However, the facilities did not cover as large an area as originally planned, and soon became insufficient for the growing town. Even the opening of an annexe at the Bewbush Leisure Centre in 1984 was not enough.[76] In 2005, Crawley Leisure Centre was closed and replaced by a new facility, the K2 Leisure Centre, near the Broadfield Stadium on the campus of Thomas Bennett Community College.[77] Opened to the public on 14 November 2005,[75] and officially by Lord (Sebastian) Coe on 24 January 2006, the centre includes the only Olympic-sized swimming pool in south-east England.[78] The centre has been proposed as a possible training site for the 2012 Olympics in London.[79]
Provision for the arts was lacking in the early days of the new town, with the proposed arts venue in the town centre never being built. Some provision was made in community centres and the Tilgate Forest Recreational Centre,[76]. but it was not until 1988 that the town had its own theatre and arts venue, at The Hawth.[80] Crawley's earliest cinema, the Imperial Picture House on Brighton Road, lasted from 1909 until around World War II, with the Embassy Cinema on the High Street (opened in 1938) replacing it as the town's venue for films.[76][4] A large Cineworld cinema has since replaced it, a short distance to the north in the Crawley Leisure Park, which also features ten-pin bowling, various restaurants and bars and a fitness centre.[81]
Each neighbourhood has self-contained recreation areas, and there are other larger parks throughout the town. The Memorial Gardens, on the eastern side of Queen's Square, feature art displays, children's play areas and lawns, as well as a plaque commemorating those who died in two Second World War bombing incidents in 1943 and 1944.[4] Goffs Park in Southgate covers 50 acres (20 hectares), and has lakes, boating ponds, a model railway and many other features.[82] Tilgate Park and Nature Centre has walled gardens, lakes, large areas of woodland with footpaths and bridleways, a golfing area and a collection of animals and birds.[83]
Crawley Museum[84] is based in Goffs Park. Stone Age and Bronze Age remains discovered in the area are on display, as well as more recent artefacts including parts of Vine Cottage, an old timber-framed building on the High Street which was once home to former Punch editor Mark Lemon and which was demolished when the ASDA development was built.[4]
Maintained primary and secondary schools were reorganised in 2004 following the Local Education Authority's decision to change the town's three-tier provision of First, Middle and Secondary schools to a more standard primary/secondary divide.[85]
Crawley now has 17 primary schools — of which 4 are denominational schools — and four pairs of Infant and Junior Schools. The majority of these were opened in 2004, with some changing their character at this date (for example, from a Middle to a Junior School). Secondary education is provided at one of the six secondary schools at
