Crawley Borough Council Leader: Fascinating things on display at Crawley Museum

This has been a major piece of work involving academics from the University of Brighton and a real example of a strong local community organisation adding some stimulating and interesting events to the borough. It is a testament to the work done by the trustees, supported by the council, to utilise "The Tree" building as a hub for a museum located in a central area for the borough.

I hope everyone interested in our local history, or wants to take a trip down memory lane, takes the opportunity to visit our excellent museum while this exhibition is on. They could also take a look at many of the other interesting items from our past on display. The exhibition runs until 26 April 2025 and entry is free. Crawley Museum is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10.30 until 4pm.

Crawley Borough Council has been a consistent supporter of Crawley Museum right from the outset, not only paying to ensure The Tree building and annex in a prime town centre location was in a suitable condition to become their new base, but also ensuring that the museum had decent financial support while it established itself over time.

Indeed, the original arrangements, made some time ago, were that, aside from provision of the Tree at a reasonable rent, the council's direct funding of the museum was due to cease after this forthcoming year.

To confirm, council officers advise me that Crawley Museum were initially expecting to receive £10k from CBC for 2025/26 which would have been the last year of the originally agreed funding proposal. The revised agreement now provides an increase in funding and one additional year as follows: 2025/26 - £26k (£16k increase) and 2026/27 - £16k (£16k increase due to the additional year).

This is despite the other financial pressures on the council that are not of its making. This I believe is positive news, and I'm happy to confirm the position.