Crawley; The Past, Present and Future (Crawley in General)

Member Name: Nichelette

Product:	Crawley in General
Date:	24/03/09 (399 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good transport links/location

Disadvantages: It has a chav problem,I don't feel safe walking about at night

Being a bit curious of what has been written about my home town, Crawley, I decided to read a few reviews. Unfortunately most of them I've stumbled across are either old, frankly (in my opinion) a bit rubbish, or more commonly both. I'm out to redress the balance.

*History*

Crawley is one of ten towns constructed as a result of the first wave of development due to New Towns Act of 1946, and the only one south of the River Thames. Upon their completion the vast majority of Crawley's new houses were occupied by those whose houses in central London had been damaged during the war. As a result of this, most of Crawley's residents today have parents and grandparents who were Londoners, myself included.

Although Crawley in its current state dates back to the 1950's, as was the case with most 'new' towns, Crawley was built around a historic core. Ifield, a neighbourhood in Crawley was mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086, with the first official record of Crawley being created in 1202.

During the Iron Age, and in to the Roman times Crawley continued to be an area where ironwork and extraction were common. When areas to the south west of Crawley were constructed in the 1970's and 80's several furnaces were uncovered.

Due to its location Crawley was a popular resting point for those travelling between London and Brighton. The 15th century timber framed building, The George, housed travellers and their horses until it was converted into a hotel which it continues to serve as today.

During the Victorian era the first train station was opened at Three Bridges in 1841, soon followed by Crawley station which opened in 1841.

*Location and Transport Links*

Crawley is situated almost equidistant between London and Brighton. To be honest I think its location is probably (and sadly) Crawley's best feature. Falling within the jurisdiction of West Sussex County Council, Crawley lies on the cusp of East and West Sussex, and Surrey.

Trains run regularly to London Victoria, and London Bridge, both of which can be reached in around 45 minutes. The M25 is also very easily accessible from the south west of the town, as is the A23 to Brighton.

Within the town there are three train stations, Three Bridges (furthest north), Crawley in the town centre, and Ifield in the south of the town.

Beginning in late 2003 the fastway bus service was introduced to the town. This is a guided bus service which originally ran between Bewbush and Gatwick Airport, with another route running Between Broadfield and Horley, Surrey being added in the summer of 2005. This was an extremely expensive service to implement, and has been considered to be a bit of a white elephant by many residents.

*Leisure*

One of the things that Crawley does have going for it is reasonably good leisure facilities.

Opened in 1988 The Hawth is Crawley's only Arts centre, and regularly hosts big London musicals when they go on tour. Crawley Leisure Park was opened in the late 1990's and features amongst various food venues, a large cinema which used to boast the second largest screen in the country (whether this is still true I do not know), a bowling complex, and a large Virgin Active Gym.

Crawley has three clubs including a Liquid/Envy, Brannigans and a newly opened club just off of Peglar Way. Unfortunately these all pander to the tastes of the rather large chav population, so if you're after something a bit less mainstream it's best to avoid Crawley.

Sports wise the towns football club - Crawley Town FC moved into a new, larger stadium in Broadfield a few years ago.

Until recently there were two leisure centers in Crawley, one in the town centre and the other in Bewbush, however both have recently been demolished to make way for new housing stock. These were replaced with a new leisure center: K2. This was built on the school field of Thomas Bennet Community College on the grounds that students from the school were able to use its facilities.

*Green Areas*

One of the things that make me happy to live where I do are the number of green spaces. I live very close to a millpond which can be nice in summer (if you can imagine it without the dumped trolleys and other assorted litter). I'm also very close to a wooded area called Buchan Park which can (depending on your route) take an hour plus to walk around as it is a decent size. There is also an area of heathland here, and a conservation programme to protect both the animals and plants who live there.

Most of the neighbourhoods have at least one grassy field and a child's play park. Additionally, Tilgate park has an animal reserve, and Goffs park is located close to the centre of town.

*Council Buildings*

Constructed in the 1950's, it has to be said that the council buildings in Crawley town center are hardly works of art. Built in the concrete block style which for some unknown reason was popular around this time everything is rather grey and drab.

Nevertheless, a new library and registrars office was opened at the end of 2008. I'm unsure what is to happen to the old buildings.

Crawley College (now named Central Sussex College) also underwent a bit of a cosmetic makeover to brighten it up recently, though this isn't necessarily to everyone's taste.

Continuing the theme of redevelopment, Crawley Town Hall is due to be demolished in the near future to be replaced by a large John Lewis department store.

*Shopping*

Crawley is home to a large variety of shops, however these are mainly chain stores so you are unlikely to find many independent shops here as you would find in Brighton.

Opened in the early 1990's after being built on large section of the towns memorial garden, County Mall is Crawley's only shopping centre.

Amongst others the town has branches of New Look, The Body Shop, H&M, Superdrug, Boots, Topshop, Next, JJB, Lush, Primark, Dorothy Perkins, Argos, Sainsbury's, TK Maxx, M&S, Debenhams, BHS and so on...

Whilst there were some independent shops these were mostly in the old High Street, and most have folded due to the competition with these larger stores. There is a small market in this location every Friday and Saturday.

*Gatwick Airport*

Used as a RAF base during WWII, Gatwick airport was earmarked for closure. Instead, it was closed for redeveloped between 1956-8,and opened by the Queen in the summer of 1958. The North Terminal was added in 1988, and the airport has been an important part of the local economy.

*Education*

There are currently six secondary schools in the area:

* Ifield Community College
* Hazelwick School
* Holy Trinity Church of England School
* Oriel High School
* St Wilfrid's Catholic School
* Thomas Bennett Community College

Most of these also have sixth forms attached. Although I didn't go to secondary school in Crawley so I can't speak from experience, none of these have better than 59% achieving 5 A*-C grades, with the lowest having 27%. I'm not sure what the national average is, but if I had children I wouldn't want to send them to school here.

Primary education isn't much better either. Today I read that my old school has received the lowest possible OFSTED score. Although I left in 1997 I'm assuming that the standard of education hasn't changed much, so I can understand why. Allegedly the teaching is sub-standard, as is the level of literacy. In light of that it might not surprise you that I wasn't taught what a comma was until I was in year 6.

Central Sussex College is the towns main college. This provides mainly vocational education for the towns students. For this reason a reasonable number of people opt to attend college in the neighbouring town of Horsham.

*Employment*

Unemployment in Crawley has historically been fairly low, largely due to the presence of the airport which is probably the towns largest employer. The vast majority of Crawley residents work in the service sector, with a sizable number working in the transport industry.

*Crime*

Sussex Police are responsible for maintaining order in Crawley. According to 2007/8 figures robberies, theft of a motor vehicle and burglaries from dwellings were slightly below the national average, whilst sexual offences stood at 1.3 per 1000 of the population compared to a national average of 0.9. Violence against the person was also considerably higher than the national average of 16.2 (22.8), as was theft from a vehicle offences which stood at 9.1 (average 6.9).

*Housing*

Crawley is split into thirteen different neighbourhoods, each of which has its own corresponding colour which is on all street signs for that particular area. These areas are:

1) Langley Green
2) Northgate
3) Southgate
4) Pound Hill
5) Broadfield
6) Bewbush
7) Ifield
8) Maidenbower
9) West Green
10) Tilgate
11) Gossops Green
12) Three Bridges
13) Furnace Green

With the exception of Maidenbower where building commenced in the 1980's, the vast majority of houses in Crawley are located on council estates. It was the wishes of the developers that each neighbourhood should have its own parade of shops, community centre, and pub in the middle.

House prices tend to be below the average prices for the south east. I would attribute this to the large amount of council housing in the town.

*Health Facilities*

Crawley is served by the West Sussex Primary Care Trust. Crawley Hospital was constructed in the 1950's with the rest of the town, however the population of the town has swelled to such a degree that many of Crawley's patients are treated at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill. After being downgraded several years ago Crawley Hospital lost its Maternity ward, A&E, and intensive care units. Proposals were put forward to build a new hospital at Pease Pottage, but these were deemed to be too expensive and pulled.

*Population Composition*

Crawley is a fairly large town with a population of around 100,000.

In 2006 the ethnic composition of the town was:

86.5% White
8.8% S.Asian
1.9% Black British
1.0% Chinese or other
1.7% Mixed Race

In May 2006 the Conservative Party took control of the borough for the first time since its creation. Previously the town had always been Labour controlled. The current MP for the town is Labour councillor Laura Moffat, whose winning margin of 37 seats in the 2005 General Election was the slimmest of any constituency.

*The Future*

In the future there have been plans to build on land to the south west of Crawley. This land is in fact owned by the considerably more affluent neighbouring Horsham council. Many Crawley residents are particularly annoyed by this as they consider Horsham Council to be 'dumping' their housing quota on Crawley. Many residents have opposed this, and we are yet to see if this will come to fruition or not.

To Conclude

So, Crawley...

Do I plan to spend the rest of my life here?

Probably not.

BUT, Crawley isn't as bad a place as some would have you believe. Whilst it isn't exactly a prime location, we do have reasonably good leisure facilities, good transport links, reasonably priced houses for the south east and low unemployment.

Summary: It could be better, but it could also be much worse