Crawley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 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 44.97 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Crawley |
| ONS code: | 45UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 225th 98,500 2,190 / 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: | No Overall Control |
| MP: | Laura Moffatt |
| Neighbourhoods of Crawley | |
 |
|
  Map sources for Crawley at grid reference TQ2736
|
Crawley is a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. It covers an area of 44.97 km² and has a population of 99,744 people (2001 census). It is bordered by the Sussex Local Authorities of Mid Sussex and Horsham Districts; and by the Surrey authorities of Mole Valley and Tandridge Districts, and the Borough of Reigate & Banstead. Crawley is the nearest large town to the United Kingdom's second largest airport, Gatwick, which has a major influence on the economy and development of the town.
Contents |
[edit] Administration
The town is an unparished borough, a two-tier area, also coming under the remit of West Sussex County Council. It encompasses the original West Sussex parishes of Ifield and part of Worth. The borough is divided into fifteen wards for local government purposes. The Conservative group are the largest party in the Borough Council. The status of the council is currently no overall control following the defection late in 2006 of a Conservative councillor to the Liberal Democrats.
[edit] History
The area now known as Crawley was peopled by Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlers, as remains show. During the Roman times the iron industry flourished. The Saxons first named the settlement craw leah (crow infested clearing); both Ifield and Worth are mentioned in the Domesday Book; Worth church is Saxon. A weekly market charter was granted in 1203.[1]
Crawley's position on the turnpike to Brighton helped to boost its population. It was, however, the coming of the railway in 1848, when the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway opened the line from Three Bridges (on the line to Brighton) to Horsham railway station that started the real town growth. Some 900 houses were added between the two world wars[1], bringing the population to around 10,000 people by World War II, mainly clustered around the main London to Brighton road (by then the A23).
Other local developments included the opening of Gatwick Racecourse in 1891; and an aerodrome, later to become Gatwick Airport, opened in the 1930s.[1]
[edit] Development as a New Town
In 1947, Crawley was designated as a New Town area under the New Towns Act of 1946.[1] Its development then ballooned during the 1950s and 1960s, bringing it to a population of around 60,000. Crawley New Town was based around three communities: Crawley itself, Ifield and Three Bridges. The Act allowed expansion as required: and since its beginnings, the town has continued to grow, incorporating neighbouring settlements. [2]
Six square kilometres were added to the authority's area in 1983; and a further neighbourhood to the north-east of the town is planned.[1]
During the boom of the 1980s the town boasted the lowest level of unemployment in the UK.[3]
[edit] Structure
Crawley's 13 neighbourhoods are as follows:
- Bewbush
- Broadfield
- Furnace Green
- Gossops Green
- Ifield
- Langley Green
- Maidenbower
- Northgate
- Pound Hill
- Southgate
- Three Bridges
- Tilgate
- West Green
For Local government administration (for example planning and elections) the borough is divided into fifteen wards:
- Bewbush
- Broadfield North
- Broadfield South
- Furnace Green
- Gossops Green
- Ifield
- Langley Green (and Gatwick)
- Maidenbower
- Northgate (and Manor Royal)
- Pound Hill North
- Pound Hill South (and Worth)
- Southgate
- Three Bridges
- Tilgate
- West Green
Other areas within Crawley include:
- Manor Royal - An industrial zone (part of the Northgate ward)
- Worth - A disputed area falling within Pound Hill and Maidenbower. The historic parish of Worth also falls in Mid Sussex, which contains the whole of the modern parish of Worth.
- Gatwick - The area surrounding London Gatwick Airport (part of Langley Green ward). Includes the old village of Lowfield Heath which was largely cleared to make way for the airport. The old church building survives within the airport boundary.
[edit] Local attractions, culture, and facilities
- The Hawth - a theatre.
- LaserHub- Large lasertag centre, spindle way crawley.
- CineWorld - a 15-screen cinema.
- Worth Church - a large Saxon church in Worth
- Tilgate Park - a large forest, with a rare breeds centre and many visitor facilities.
- Crawley Leisure Park - an area with bowling, cinema, restaurants, bars and a health club.
- Broadfield Stadium - football stadium owned by Crawley Borough Council. Also the home of Crawley Town F.C.
- Crawley Library and Broadfield Library.
- County Mall - A large covered shopping area, the main retail area of the town.
- K2 Crawley - Leisure centre and sports complex.
[edit] Education
- Central Sussex College - Crawley campus of the Further Education College (formerly Crawley College), in the town centre, specialising in hairdressing, technology and vocational subjects.
- Hazelwick School - Comprehensive School with Technology and Humanties Specialist Status, in Three Bridges.
- Holy Trinity School, Crawley - Church of England Secondary School with Science Specialist Status, in Gossops Green
- Ifield Community College - Comprehensive School, in Ifield.
- Oriel High School - Comprehensive School, in Maidenbower.
- St Wilfrid's School - Catholic Secondary School, in Southgate.
- Thomas Bennett Community College - Comprehensive School with Sports Specialist Status, in Tilgate.
[edit] Transport links
A large influence on the town's recent development has been the nearby international airport, London Gatwick, which is contained within the borough's boundaries. The airport is now the busiest single-runway airport in the world, and the sixth busiest overall. Crawley also has three railway stations: Crawley, Three Bridges, and Ifield. Crawley is located at the southern end of the M23 motorway, which bypasses the town. The M23 motorway ends just to the south of Crawley near Pease Pottage Service station, and then continues as the A23 to Brighton.
[edit] Fastway bus project
See main article: Crawley Fastway
A guided bus public transport service linking parts of Crawley to Gatwick Airport.
[edit] Other Bus Services
Metrobus operate many bus Services around Crawley. The most frequent being Crawley Fastway Routes 10 & 20. Services 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 100 , 200 are also very frequent.
[edit] Famous residents
- Glenn 'Glenda' Rowswell - Writer for Fast Car Magazine
- Lucy Brown - Writer for Now and Heat magazines.
- Nigel Calder - Editor, New Scientist 1962-1966, Author, Screenwriter
- Simon Calder - Independent travel writer and presenter for BBC travel programmes.
- Anthony (Tex) Doughty - Musician - Transvision Vamp - Tex went to Thomas Bennett
- John George Haigh - 'The Acid Bath Murderer'.
- Michael Hazlewood - Songwriter for example 'The Air That I Breathe' (for the Hollies), 'It Never Rains in Southern California' and many others. Attended Hazelwick School.
- Tom Jarvie - International Footballer [Scotland] and Blue Peter Vet
- Mark Lemon - First editor of Punch magazine.
- Simon Meade - Leader of the Red Arrows 1997-1999.
- Alan Minter - World Middleweight Boxing Champion 1980.
- Kevin Muscat - Australian footballer (born in Crawley).
- Dawn Primarolo (nee Gasson) - Paymaster General
- Chico Slimani - Pop singer and finalist on X Factor.
- Gareth Southgate - Former England international footballer and now manager of Middlesbrough football club who attended Hazelwick School.
- Eugene Sully - Contestant in Big Brother UK series 6.
- Peter Vaughan - Actor. Most famous role was Harry Grout in Porridge (TV). The house he lived in is now the Goffs Manor pub.
- Faye White - Footballer, England and Arsenal captain.
- Helen Young - weather forecaster and television presenter.
- 2D - The lead singer/keyboardist of the virtual band Gorillaz.
- The Cure - A music band formed in Crawley in 1976, members of the band went to St Wilfrid's School
- Robert Smith - Musician.
- Michael Dempsey - Musician.
- Laurence Tolhurst - Musician.
- Paul Stephen 'Porl' Thompson - Musician.
[edit] Twin city
Crawley is twinned with Dorsten in Germany.
[edit] See also
Elsewhere:
- Crawley, Western Australia
- Crawley, West Virginia
- Crawley, Sri Lanka
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d History. Crawley Borough Council website. Crawley Borough Council. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Hudson, T.P. (ed.) [1987]. "Crawley New Town", A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 3: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town. Oxford: Institute of Historical Research by Oxford University Press, pp74-75. ISBN 0197227686. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Debates for 9 Feb 1989. House of Commons Hansard. HMSO (1989). Retrieved on 6 Jan 2007.
