Plans to build three blocks of flats above Crawley town centre shop refused
Plans to build three blocks of flats up to 11 storeys high above Crawley’s Poundland store have been refused by the borough council.
The application from Crawley Square 2014 LLP, which has been working to develop the project since before the pandemic, was refused by the planning committee on Wednesday (September 3).
While recognising the need for more housing, the plans – which would have delivered 66 homes – did not go down well with councillors.
Sue Mullins (Lab, Northgate & West Green) said she was ‘quite shocked’ by the application, describing the development as a ‘carbuncle’ and looking like ‘someone has got a chunk of Lego and stuck it on top’.
Had the plans been approved, the shop would have remained on the ground floor, while the empty offices above would have been converted into flats. Extra floors would have been added, leaving six-storeys facing Queens Square, 11 storeys facing The Boulevard and six storeys on a block in between the two.
Thomas Bidwell (Con, Pound Hill South & Worth) felt the development would be ‘out of place and confused’ compared to other work carried out in the square, such as the building of the Pavilion and the coming renovation of the former Decathlon building.
No objections were received regarding the impact the development would have on the recently designated Queens Square and The Broadway Conservation Area. In a report to the committee, officers felt it would ‘contribute positively and reinforce the New Town character of the town centre’.
But Grainne Conway (Ref, Ifield) said: “It is an existing not very attractive building and this is making it look worse.”
The application was refused on the grounds that the design, height, size and massing would be out of character with the area and would ‘fail to preserve or enhance’ the character of the Conservation Area.
To view the application, log on toplanningregister.crawley.gov.uk and search for CR/2025/0290/FUL.