Final designs for new town hall and flats revealed

Haywards Heath Investments was granted planning permission in July for a block of 91 flats on the site of the car park on the northern side of The Boulevard between the town hall and Babcock House.

Now a hybrid planning application has been submitted jointly by Crawley Borough Council and developers Westrock for the site next to it.

It seeks full approval for a replacement town hall and council offices, commercial office space, a new public square, and improvements to the multi-storey car park.

The remaining part of the application is in outline for 182 units on the western part of the site.

The new nine storey building, situated on the corner of The Boulevard and Exchange Road, would see the council occupy the lower four floors, with the remaining five floors let out to commercial tenants, generating income for the local authority.

A ten-storey residential building containing the 182 flats would be on the northern and western parts of the site, but a separate detailed application would have to be submitted before this could be built.

A new landscaped public square between the new civic offices and block of flats would also be provided with level access to The Boulevard.

The masterplan also includes a district heating network, which will help the council reduce energy costs and its carbon footprint.

The application concludes: “The proposed new town hall will improve the appearance of the site, through the creation of a new landmark within the town, and a new public square.

“This will also increase the footfall to this part of town, which will create benefits to the existing businesses in this area and the town as a whole.

“It is considered that the re-development and regeneration of this site will act as a catalyst to allow further development opportunities to come forward within this area.”

To comment visit www.crawley.gov.uk using code CR/2017/0997/OUT.

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