Offices near Crawley station could be demolished to make way for 121 affordable flats

A2Dominion Group wants permission to redevelop the Longley House site in East Park, which lies south of the railway line and west of the Arora Hotel.

According to a planning application submitted to Crawley Borough Council the redevelopment offers the change to ‘remedy underoccupation on the site through creating a new high quality residential building’.

To the west of the site is Zurich House, which is due to be redeveloped for housing, while north of the railway line Overline House could be converted into flats, with new buildings proposed both to the west and on the site of Moka nightclub.

The application for Longley House describes how the fabric of the two office buildings are in ‘poor condition, has no architectural merit to the area and is in need of modernisation’.

The building is currently only half full.

The new block of flats would range from nine to four storeys in height and has been designed in a ‘U’ shape.

Homes would be split between 56 affordable rent units and 65 shared ownership homes.

The building has been designed to provide separate access cores to the different housing tenures, both accessible from the communal courtyard to the front of the building.

Cycle and refuse storage would be located at ground level.

There would be 60 car parking spaces located around the perimeter and 208 internal cycle parking spaces.

Vehicular access into the site will be restricted with use of barriers.

A number of energy and sustainability features would be incorporated into the development including solar panels and a communal heating system.

The existing substation on site would be removed and a replacement built on the southern boundary.

The application said it was ‘clear that Longley House is no longer suitable, viable or appropriate for continued employment purposes, nor does it contribute to Crawley’s wider economic function’.

It concluded: “The application proposals represent an important opportunity to comprehensively redevelop and efficiently utilise a key site within Crawley Town Centre, which is allocated for residential development within the adopted development plan. The development proposals, comprising flats for shared ownership and affordable rent, will contribute significantly towards the supply of high-quality, affordable housing within Crawley.”

To comment visit www.crawley.gov.uk/planning using code CR/2020/0024/FUL