Date is set for Crawley market to move

The new sites were identified in a recent analysis by the Retail Study Group as one of the best town centre spots for a market. Crawley Borough Council had to delay the move from its original High Street location because Haslett Avenue West did not have permission for street trading.

The council decided to allow the Friday and Saturday market to operate on a temporary basis in Queens Square and Queensway while it applied for street trading consent for Haslett Avenue West. This was approved by the council’s Licensing Committee on 12 January.

The current Queens Square Wednesday market will be moved to The Broadway towards the end of May before work starts on the £3.2m regeneration scheme in the square.

Councillor Peter Smith, cabinet member for planning and economic development at Crawley Borough Council, said: “The weekend market was struggling badly in the High Street so we decided to move it to The Broadway and Haslett Avenue West because it’s a good location with greater footfall.

“This market move will be good for the traders, good for our residents and good for the adjacent retailers, and will help to breathe more life into the area. We are hopeful that the move to the new location will also help the market to grow, over time, with the arrival of new stallholders.”