Editing Crawley (section)

== Economy ==
{{table alignment}}
{|class="wikitable floatright col1left" style="text-align:right;"
|+Labour profile<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/2038431836/report.aspx?town=crawley#tabjobs |title=Labour Market Profile: Crawley |access-date=2 August 2007 |work=Nomis official labour market statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717095926/https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/2038431836/report.aspx?town=crawley#tabjobs |archive-date=17 July 2011 }} Data is taken from the ONS annual business inquiry employee analysis and refers to 2005</ref>
! scope="col" | Job
! scope="col" | Number
! scope="col" | %
|-
||Total employee jobs||79,700||{{n/a}}
|-style="border-top: 2px solid black;"
||Full-time||58,100||72.9%
|-
||Part-time||21,600||27.1%
|-style="border-top: 2px solid black;"
||Manufacturing||7,500||9.4%
|-
||Construction||1,800||2.2%
|-
||Services||70,100||87.9%
|-style="border-top: 2px solid black;"
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Distribution, hotels & restaurants||19,600||24.6%
|-
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Transport & communications||23,900||30.0%
|-
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Finance, IT, other business activities||15,400||19.3%
|-
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Public admin, education & health||9,600||12.1%
|-
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Other services||1,600||2.0%
|-
|style="left-padding: 20pt"|Tourism-related||6,600||8.3%
|}

Crawley traded as a market town. The [[Crawley Development Corporation|Development Corporation]] intended to develop it as a centre for manufacturing and light engineering, with an industrial zone.<ref name="econhist"/> The rapid growth of Gatwick Airport provided opportunities for businesses in the aviation, transport, warehousing and distribution industries. The significance of the airport to local employment and enterprise was reflected by the formation of the Gatwick Diamond partnership. This venture, supported by local businesses, local government and [[South East England Development Agency|SEEDA]], South East England's [[Regional Development Agency]], aims to maintain and improve the Crawley and Gatwick area's status as a region of national and international economic importance.<ref name="gatdiamond">{{cite web|url=http://www.gatwickdiamond.co.uk/|title=The Gatwick Diamond|access-date=2 August 2007|publisher=West Sussex Economic Partnership|year=2007|work=Gatwick Diamond website|archive-date=8 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608021523/http://www.gatwickdiamond.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the Second World War, unemployment in Crawley has been low: the rate was 1.47% of the working-age population in 2003.<ref name="unemployment">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=INT010610&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&Rendition=Web|title=Unemployment|access-date=2 August 2007|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|year=2004|work=Crawley Economic Profile 2004|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928091626/http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=INT010610&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&Rendition=Web|archive-date=28 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the boom of the 1980s the town boasted the lowest level of unemployment in the UK.<ref name="hansard">{{cite web | title = Debates for 9&nbsp;Feb 1989 | work = House of Commons Hansard | publisher = HMSO | year = 1989 | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198889/cmhansrd/1989-02-09/Debate-4.html | access-date = 6 January 2007 | archive-date = 28 June 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090628042137/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198889/cmhansrd/1989-02-09/Debate-4.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Continuous growth and investment have made Crawley one of the most important business and employment centres in the [[South East England]] region.<ref name="SuppMem"/>

In April 2020, the [[Centre for Cities]] [[thinktank]] identified Crawley as the place in [[Great Britain|Britain]] at the highest risk of widespread job losses due to the [[Coronavirus|coronavirus']] effect on the economy; classing 56% of jobs in the town as either vulnerable or very vulnerable of being [[furlough]]ed or lost.<ref name="guardian-covid">{{Cite news |last=Partington |first=Richard |date=16 April 2020 |title=Crawley likely to be worst affected by UK coronavirus job losses |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/16/crawley-worst-uk-coronavirus-job-losses-aviation |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611182600/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/16/crawley-worst-uk-coronavirus-job-losses-aviation |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Manufacturing industry ===
Crawley was already a modest industrial centre by the end of the Second World War. Building was an important trade: 800 people were employed by building and joinery firms, and two—Longley's and Cook's—were large enough to have their own factories.<ref name="Gray16">{{Harvnb|Gray|1983|p=16.}}</ref> In 1949, 1,529 people worked in manufacturing: the main industries were light and [[precision engineering]] and aircraft repair. Many of the jobs in these industries were highly skilled.<ref name="econhist"/><ref name="Gray16"/>

Industrial development had to take place relatively soon after the new town was established because part of the corporation's remit was to move people and jobs out of an overcrowded and war-damaged London. Industrial jobs were needed as well as houses and shops to create a balanced community where people could settle.<ref name="NTA1946-31">{{Harvnb|Bennett|1949|p=31.}}</ref> 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 {{convert|267|acre|ha|0|adj=on}}<ref name="NTA1946-31"/> 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 {{convert|44|acre|ha|0|adj=on}} site reserved for future expansion, on the other side of the railway line (again, not used for this purpose in the end). [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Princess Elizabeth]] (later Queen Elizabeth II) opened the first part of the industrial area on 25 January 1950;<ref name="Cole-Misc"/> its main road was named Manor Royal, and this name eventually came to refer to the whole estate.<ref name="econhist"/>

The Corporation stipulated that several [[Secondary sector of economic activity|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 rent ready-made buildings, and constructing a wide range of building types and sizes.<ref name="econhist"/><ref name="Gray33">{{Harvnb|Gray|1983|p=33.}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Gray33"/> 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.<ref name="econhist"/> 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. In 1978 there were 105 such firms, employing nearly 20,000 people.<ref name="econhist"/><ref name="Gray34">{{Harvnb|Gray|1983|p=34.}}</ref>

[[Thales Group]] opened a new manufacturing and office complex in Crawley in 2009. The site consolidated manufacturing and offices in the Crawley area and the south-east of England.<ref name="Thales">{{cite news|title=Thales opens new Crawley site in lifeline for town business|url=http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley/business/Thales-opens-new-Crawley-site-lifeline-town-business/article-412601-detail/article.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505100304/http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley/business/Thales-opens-new-Crawley-site-lifeline-town-business/article-412601-detail/article.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|work=Crawley News|publisher=East Surrey and Sussex News and Media|location=Reigate, Surrey|issn=0961-480X|date=20 October 2008|access-date=30 October 2009}}</ref>

=== Service industry and commerce ===
[[File:VirginTheOffice02.jpg|thumb|Former [[Virgin Atlantic]] head office.]]
While most of the jobs created in the new town's early years were in manufacturing, the [[Tertiary sector of economic activity|tertiary sector]] developed strongly from the 1960s. The [[Manor Royal]] estate, with its space, proximity to Gatwick Airport and good transport links, attracted airport-related services such as logistics, catering, distribution and warehousing; and the corporation and private companies built offices throughout the town. Office floorspace in the town increased from {{convert|55000|sqft|m2|-2}} in 1965 to a conservative estimate of {{convert|453000|sqft|m2|-2}} in 1984.<ref name="econhist"/> Major schemes during that period included premises for the [[NatWest|Westminster Bank]], [[British Caledonian]] and [[Paymaster General|The Office of the Paymaster-General]].<ref name="econhist"/> 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.<ref name="nhs">{{cite web|url=http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/Trust.aspx?id=5P6&v=6|title=NHS: West Sussex PCT|access-date=5 September 2007|publisher=Department of Health|year=2007|work=NHS Choices: West Sussex PCT (list of sites)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231559/http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/Trust.aspx?id=5P6&v=6|archive-date=26 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="otheroverlinecos">{{cite web|url=http://www.locallife.co.uk/crawley/jobagencies3.asp|title=Locallife Crawley|access-date=5 September 2007|publisher=Locallife Ltd|year=2007|work=Locallife Crawley: Business directory|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927070806/http://www.locallife.co.uk/crawley/jobagencies3.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:SchlumbergerHouseGatwick.jpg|thumb|left|[[Schlumberger]] House, the head office of [[WesternGeco]] at Gatwick Airport]]
Companies headquartered in Crawley include [[Doosan Babcock Energy]],<ref name="DoosanBabcock">{{cite web|url=http://www.doosanbabcock.com/live/cme74.htm|title=Contacts Europe|year=2009|publisher=[[Doosan Babcock]]|access-date=29 October 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312102536/http://www.doosanbabcock.com/live/cme74.htm|archive-date=12 March 2010}}</ref> [[WesternGeco]],<ref name="WesternGeco">{{cite web|url=http://www.westerngeco.com/about/contact/regions.aspx |title=Regions, WesternGeco |year=2009 |publisher=[[Schlumberger|Schlumberger Ltd]] |access-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601064428/http://www.westerngeco.com/about/contact/regions.aspx |archive-date=1 June 2009 }}</ref> [[Virgin Atlantic]],<ref name="VAA">{{cite web|url=http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/allaboutus/howtofindus/index.jsp|title=Our Offices Around the World|year=2009|publisher=[[Virgin Atlantic]] Ltd|access-date=29 October 2009|archive-date=9 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209013045/http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/allaboutus/howtofindus/index.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref> Virgin Atlantic's associated travel agency [[Virgin Holidays]], [[William Reed Business Media]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.william-reed.com/contact-us|title=William Reed Business Media|access-date=19 September 2012|archive-date=22 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922172131/http://www.william-reed.com/contact-us|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dualit]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Nicholls |first=David |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/interiors/11064079/Toast-of-the-Nation-how-Dualit-became-makers-of-the-ultimate-design-classic.html |title=Video: Toast of the Nation: how Dualit became makers of the ultimate design classic |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=5 September 2014 |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922121129/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/interiors/11064079/Toast-of-the-Nation-how-Dualit-became-makers-of-the-ultimate-design-classic.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Office of the Paymaster-General.<ref name="econhist"/> Danish company [[Novo Nordisk]], which manufactures much of the world's [[insulin]] supply, has its UK headquarters at the Broadfield Business Park,<ref name="Novo">{{cite news|url=http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/news/local/company-celebrates-90-years-of-providing-insulin-to-diabetics-1-4838317 |title=Company celebrates 90 years of providing insulin to diabetics |date=5 March 2013 |work=Crawley Observer |publisher=[[Johnston Press|Johnston Publishing Ltd]] |access-date=6 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103204550/http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/news/local/company-celebrates-90-years-of-providing-insulin-to-diabetics-1-4838317 |archive-date=3 November 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref> and [[BDO Global]] has an office in Crawley.<ref>Sukhraj, Penny. "[http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/1783326/bdo-bromley-moves-gatwick BDO Bromley moves to Gatwick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113032524/http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/1783326/bdo-bromley-moves-gatwick |date=13 January 2012 }}." ''[[Accountancy Age]]''. 29 January 2007. Retrieved on 12 February 2011.</ref> The UK headquarters of [[Nestlé]] is in the Manor Royal area of Crawley.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nestle.co.uk/en-gb/aboutus/locations |title=Nestlé in the UK & Ireland Locations |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906084059/https://www.nestle.co.uk/en-gb/aboutus/locations |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition the registered offices of TUI UK and [[Thomson Airways]] are located in Crawley.<ref>"[http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/legal/website-terms-and-conditions.html Website Terms and Conditions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918213035/http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/legal/website-terms-and-conditions.html |date=18 September 2008 }}." [[TUI UK]]. Retrieved on 2 January 2011. "TUI UK Limited ("TUI UK") trades under a number of brands including Thomson, and has its Registered Office at TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9QL."</ref><ref>"[http://flights.thomson.co.uk/en/popup_booking_conditions.html Booking Conditions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119063448/http://flights.thomson.co.uk/en/popup_booking_conditions.html |date=19 January 2012 }}." Thomson Airways. Retrieved on 4 February 2011."Both Thomson Airways and TUI UK Limited have their Registered Office at TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley RH10 9QL[...]"</ref><!--Those are NOT the head offices, though-->

[[British Airways]] took over [[British Caledonian]]'s former headquarters near the Manor Royal estate, renamed it "Astral Towers" and based its British Airways Holidays and [[Air Miles]] divisions there.<ref name="baholidays">{{cite web|url=http://www.baholidays.com/packages/terms06.jsp|title=British Airways Holidays: Booking terms and conditions|access-date=5 September 2007|publisher=British Airways Holidays Ltd|year=2007|archive-date=12 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812234957/http://www.baholidays.com/packages/terms06.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AIRMILES">{{cite web |url=http://www.airmiles.co.uk/tertiary/aboutus.do |title=About Airmiles |access-date=21 March 2008 |publisher=AIRMILES Travel Promotions Ltd, trading as AIRMILES |year=2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014010204/http://www.airmiles.co.uk/tertiary/aboutus.do |archive-date=14 October 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Other companies formerly headquartered in Crawley include [[Astraeus Airlines]],<ref>"{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20090823070223/http://www.flyastraeus.com/contact/index.php Contacts]}}." [[Astraeus Airlines]]. Retrieved on 22 May 2010.</ref> [[British United Airways]],<ref name="flight1969">{{cite journal | title= World Airline Survey ... | journal= [[Flight International]] | page= 564 | url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201817.html | date= 10 April 1969 | access-date= 13 February 2011 | archive-date= 4 February 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120204172737/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201817.html | url-status= live }} "Head Office: Gatwick Airport, Horley. Surrey."</ref> [[CityFlyer Express]],<ref>"World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. 24–30 March 1999. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1999/1999%20-%200644.html?search=%22CityFlyer%20Express%22 64] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204173408/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1999/1999%20-%200644.html?search=%22CityFlyer%20Express%22 |date=4 February 2012 }}.</ref> [[CP Ships]],<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20051104045146/http://www.cpships.com/contact.cfm Contact Us]." CP Ships. 4 November 2005. Retrieved on 12 February 2011. "CP Ships Limited 2 City Place Beehive Ring Road Gatwick, West Sussex RH6 0PA, United Kingdom"</ref> [[First Choice Airways]],<ref>Dennis, Juliet. "[http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/06/29876/management-structure-of-thomson-and-first-choice-shops.html Management structure of Thomson and First Choice shops merged] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422135402/http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/06/29876/management-structure-of-thomson-and-first-choice-shops.html |date=22 April 2012 }}." ''Travel Weekly''. 6 January 2009. Retrieved on 4 January 2011.</ref> [[GB Airways]],<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070214124459/http://www.gbairways.co.uk/company-details/the-beehive/ The Beehive]." ''GB Airways''. Retrieved on 19 May 2009.</ref> [[Laker Airways]],<ref>"World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. 16 May 1981. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%201442.html?search=%22Laker%20Airways%22 1444] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204180617/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%201442.html?search=%22Laker%20Airways%22 |date=4 February 2012 }}.</ref> [[Tradewinds Airways]],<ref>''World Airline Directory''. Flight International. 20 March 1975. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200567.html 505] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204181105/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200567.html |date=4 February 2012 }}. "Head Office: Gatwick Airport, Horley, Surrey."</ref> and [[Air Europe]].<ref>"World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. 14–20 March 1990. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1990/1990%20-%200707.html?search=%22Air%20Europe%22 55] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204174217/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1990/1990%20-%200707.html?search=%22Air%20Europe%22 |date=4 February 2012 }}. "Head Office: The Galleria, Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1HY, England"</ref>

Crawley has numerous hotels, including [[The George Hotel, Crawley|The George Hotel]], dated to 1615. It is reputedly haunted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-inns.co.uk/HauntedInns.htm|title=Reputedly haunted hotels and inns|publisher=English Inns|access-date=14 August 2010|archive-date=29 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229030414/http://www.english-inns.co.uk/HauntedInns.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

=== Shopping and retail ===
[[File:34-36 High Street, Crawley (IoE Code 363353).jpg|thumb|right|34 and 36 High Street - Grade II late 18th-century brick building with sash windows, two chimneys and a tiled roof.]]
[[File:Crawley - County Mall (Friary Way Entrance).JPG|thumb|right|The Friary Way entrance to County Mall]]
Even before the new town was planned, Crawley was a retail centre for the surrounding area: there were 177 shops in the town in 1948,<ref name="Gray16"/> 99 of which were on the High Street.<ref name="econhist"/> Early new town residents relied on these shopping facilities until the Corporation implemented the master plan's designs for a new shopping area on the mostly undeveloped land east of the High Street and north of the railway line.<ref name="NTA1946-31"/> The Broadwalk and its 23 shops were built in 1954, followed by the Queen's Square complex and surrounding streets in the mid-1950s.<ref name="vicdates"/> 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.<ref name="Gray39">{{Harvnb|Gray|1983|p=39.}}</ref> The town centre was completed by 1960, by which time Crawley was already recognised as an important regional, rather than merely local, shopping centre.

In the 1960s and 1970s, large branches of [[Tesco]], [[Sainsbury's]] and [[Marks & Spencer]] were opened (the Tesco superstore was the largest in Britain at the time). The shopping area was also expanded southeastwards from Queen's Square: although the original plans of 1975 were not implemented fully, several large shop units were built and a new pedestrianised link—The Martlets—was provided between Queen's Square and Haslett Avenue, the main road to Three Bridges.<ref name="econhist"/> The remaining land between this area and the railway line was sold for private development by 1982;<ref name="econhist"/> in 1992 a {{convert|450000|sqft|m2|-2}}<ref name="CMsize">{{cite web|url=http://www.propertymall.com/press/article/433|title=Propertymall.com: Crawley, County Mall Shopping Centre|access-date=5 September 2007|publisher=MaxiMalls.com Ltd|year=2007|work=www.propertymall.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928194451/http://www.propertymall.com/press/article/433|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> shopping centre named County Mall and anchored by an [[Owen Owen]] department store was opened there.<ref name="mall">{{cite web|url=http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=3047252|title=The magnetic North|access-date=21 August 2007|publisher=Property Week|date=25 February 2005|author=Christine Ease|work=www.propertyweek.com|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201440/http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=3047252|url-status=live}}</ref> Its stores includes major retailers such as [[The Entertainer (retailer)|The Entertainer]], [[Boots UK|Boots]], [[WHSmith]] and [[Superdry]] as well as over 80 smaller outlets.<ref name="shops">{{cite web|url=http://www.standardlifeweb.co.uk/retailerslist.php?user=countymall&all=true|title=Shopping|access-date=21 August 2007|publisher=Standard Life Property|year=2007|work=www.countymall.co.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008211838/http://www.standardlifeweb.co.uk/retailerslist.php?user=countymall&all=true|archive-date=8 October 2007}}</ref> 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 produced in 1993.<ref name="centrevision">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/strategypolicy/int010609.pdf|title=Town Centre Strategy—Consultation Document|access-date=31 March 2008|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|date=27 April 2005|work=Crawley Borough Council website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528225443/http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/strategypolicy/int010609.pdf|archive-date=28 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Changes brought about by the scheme have included {{convert|50000|sqft|m2|-2}} 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.<ref name="tcn">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/strategypolicy/int087038.pdf|title=Town Centre North, Crawley: Retail Assessment|access-date=9 September 2007|publisher=Grosvenor Investments Ltd|date=May 2006|work=Crawley Borough Council website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928091848/http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/strategypolicy/int087038.pdf|archive-date=28 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Bastable2004-9">{{Harvnb|Bastable|2004|p=9.}}</ref>