A Guide to Living in Crawley

1. A Guide to buying a house in Crawley

2. Why Crawley? As a premier Crawley estate agents it is safe to say that we know the Crawley area well and we have helped many find their forever home here. When you move house or look to rent one although the house is a huge factor so too are the facilities, services and venues surrounding that perfect house. Crawley is a perfect place for those wanting to escape the city or settle in a nice, family friendly, and also forward thinking town. The historic town of Crawley in West Sussex is located on the main road between London and Brighton, which is ideal if you are not ready to abandon the city life completely. Moving houses, towns, cities and even countries can be a very daunting experience and sometimes difficult. This guide is created to give you a thorough idea of what Crawley is like, including, schools, shopping and places to eat. So, let’s begin. It is a great commuting town for those high flying business individuals and for that reason it is a prosperous and attractive area for first time buyers as well.

3. Primary Schools • The Bewbush Acadamey • Waterfield Primary School • Broadfield East Infant School and Nursery • Broadfield East Junior School • Seymour Primary School • St Andrews C of E Primary School • Gossops Green Community Primary school Secondary Schools Bewbush Schools • Holy Trinity C of E Secondary School St Wilfred’s Catholic School Broadfield • Furnace Green Gossops Green Crawley has multiple primary and secondary schools for • • The Gatwick School Ifield Community College Tinsley Green Ifield • • The Mill Primary School St Margaret’s C of E Primary School Manor Green Primary School (Special needs) Langley Green Primary School Our Lady Queen of Heaven Primary School The Brook School Maidenbower Infant School Maidenbower Junior School Northgate Primary School Milton Mount Primary School Pound Hill Infant School Pound Hill Junior School Hilltop Primary School Southgate Primary School St Francis of Assisi RC Primary School Three Bridges Primary School The Gatwick School Desmond Anderson Primary School The Oaks Primary School West Green Primary School you to choose from to ensure your children get the best education. For younger children, there are 28 primary • schools for children aged 4-12 so you can choose which • • Langley Green will be best suited for your children. Depending on whereabouts in Crawley you choose to live, there will be a • • • • • • • • • • • Oriel High School Maidenbower primary school close to home so you don’t have to worry Northgate Pound Hill about the commute every day. Below you will find a list of the primary schools in each neighbourhood: Southgate • • • • Hazelwick School Three Bridges • Thomas Bennett Community College Tilgate • • West Green

4. Transport Fastway, a guided bus system, is the best mode of transport around Crawley, Horley and Gatwick. With dedicated bus lanes, Fastway can avoid congestion and is a reliable alternative to traveling by car. With satellite based technology Fastway can show live timetable information to passengers and track the location of vehicles to maintain schedules. There are also neighbourhood bus services provided by Metrobus. There are three train stations in Crawley in the Town Centre, Three Bridges, and Ifield so access in and out of the town is easy. Crawley has increasing facilities for cyclists as Crawley is mostly flat. For short trips, cycling is usually quicker than traveling by car. Cycle parking is free and available all over town. There are two maps to help you plan your cycle route around Crawley the cycle is free to download or pick up all around town including at libraries, the Town Hall and train stations, includes bus stops and walkways. The Easy Way network shows easy cycling routes avoiding busy roadways and showing quiet streets and off- road paths. For walking, Crawley has developed the Greenway, a 15-mile-long footpath around the town which links up parks and open space and can be assessed from paths from the centre of town. The centre of Crawley and other parts including Pound Hill and Three Bridges are involved in the Resident Parking Scheme to control car parking to make it easier for residents and visitors to park and to enhance road safety. In certain areas or ‘Zones’, parking is controlled meaning depending on the area there are different restrictions; signs will show the hours of control and the type of permit required. Not all parking is permit only, some will offer limited Pay and Display parking but for residents a permit costing £40 a year will be more worthwhile. Permits range from being free to £250 a year for non-residents.

5. Healthcare Whatever your healthcare needs, there are multiple places around Crawley to suit you. Crawley Hospital located in West Green near the town centre is an NHS run hospital and has a 24-hour urgent treatment centre for life threatening injuries. Broadway Dental Care in Broadway is the most popular dentist in Crawley but there are many around the town which may be more preferable depending on where you live, including, Smilecare Dental Centre in Tilgate and Mill Dental Centre in Three Bridges. The Woodlands/ Clerkland Partnership doctor’s surgery in Broadfield is one of many medical centres in Crawley open from 8am until 6.30pm for your health requirements.

6. THINGS TO DO IN CRAWLEY If shopping is your thing the County Mall shopping centre has over 70 stores and eating facilities open 9am to 6pm, 11am to 5pm on Sundays and with late night shopping until 8pm on Thursdays. There are local shops in every neighbourhood and a weekly market in the High Street. Held in Queens Square the markets are every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with stalls selling everything from clothing and household goods to fruit and vegetables. Continental markets are also planned each year. The Hawth offers a variety of arts and performance from West End shows to workshops. There is wide range of performance spaces including the Theatre, Studio, Marquee and Amphitheatre. Curzon, is one of the UK’s biggest independent cinemas and brings blockbusters, world cinema and documentaries to The Hawth. Crawley Museum Society in Goffs Park is open Wednesday’s and Sunday’s from 2pm-4pm, free admission. Exhibits include remains discovered in the area from the Stone Age and Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman items. There are other exhibitions on local churches, a Victorian kitchen and Crawley’s last shoemaker. There are also temporary exhibitions which change every six months. Support the local team and go along to one of Crawley Town’s many matches. Crawley Town FC is currently a League Two football team. The team plays at Broadfield Stadium, also known as Checkatrade.com Stadium, with the capacity of 6,134 people and with a bar and event space overlooking the pitch. Also known as the Red Devils, the team got to the 5th round of the FA Cup in 2011 where they unfortunately lost to Manchester United.

7. THINGS TO DO IN CRAWLEY For children there are many playgrounds in nearly every neighbourhood, play areas are suitable for toddlers and school age children and offer challenging and stimulating play activities. There are many things for young people to do in Crawley including: • Crawley leisure park which includes a cinema, bowling alley, pool, fitness centre and various food options including Pizza Hut and Mcdonalds. • K2 Crawley is a sports facility perfect if you like to swim, workout and even rock climb Hosted here is The Panther Club for 8-13 year olds is for children who would like to try athletics. • The skate park is great for BMX bikers and skateboarders of all abilities. • Liquid is a popular nightclub which also hosts under 18’s nights often during the half term. • Crawley Are Live Music Association promotes live music from the Crawley area; bands are usually young people. • Youth Clubs are all over Crawley and are a great place for young people aged 13-17 to meet and socialise. They also provide clubs for under 13’s. • Alive ‘N’ Kicking is a free after school club with activities such as boxercise, martial arts, basketball and allows children to learn about nutrition, healthy eating and portion control. There are many sports facilities for people of all ages to take part in. Football is widely played throughout the community due to the success of Crawley Town FC; with a focus on children aged 5-12 Crawley Football in the Community includes courses at weekends, evenings and holidays.

8. OPEN PARKS Crawley has many open parks and gardens one example is Tilgate Park, the largest and most known of Crawley’s parks. It was voted number one children’s attraction with 19th century trees and natural woodland. Tilgate Nature Centre is home to a huge variety of wildlife be they endangered species or farmyard animals. Take in the incredible scenery with breath taking lakes, lawns, gardens, miles of woodland perfect for long, leisurely walks. Conservation is key so there are many successful breeding programs and organised educational sessions for schools and groups. The Walled Garden was once part of the original Tilgate Estate and is now a leisure facility with a café, a picnic area, a maze and many themed gardens. The park is also home to the UK’s number one forest adventure Go Ape which lets you fly down zip wires in the tree top adventure. Opposite the park is Tilgate Forest Golf Centre which incorporates the natural features into its design. Bewbush Water Gardens and Ifield Mill has been designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI), it features a mill pond which inhabits a rich bird community such as the mute swan, mallard, and the coot and during the winter you may be able to spot a white kingfisher, heron and water rail. There is wildlife to be seen all year round as in the spring frogs, toads and newts breed in the pond and during the summer damselflies and dragonflies may be seen skimming the waters. Goffs Park is Crawley’s oldest park and is just a short walk from the Town Centre with over 50 acres and including woodland walks, a model railway, a stunning lake, a public house and restaurant, and children’s play areas. Located inside Goffs Park House is The Crawley Museum Society and only a short distance away is Goffs Manor, one of Crawley’s oldest buildings which has evidence of settlement from the 1300s and is a Grade II listed building. The park has been awarded with the prestigious Green Flag award an incredible six times.

9. HISTORY Crawley has been a settlement since the stone age and during Roman times was the centre of ironworking. From the 13th Century it developed as a market town as the main road between London and Brighton brought passing trade. Crawley has 102 listed buildings. There are 3 Grade I listed buildings which are defined as being of “exceptional interest”, 12 listed at Grade II* which are “particularly important buildings of more than special interest” and 87 of Grade II status for buildings of “special interest”. The three Grade I listed buildings are: Friends Meeting House – Located in Langley Green and built in 1676 for the Quaker community, it has been used continuously for worship. It is one of the oldest purpose built Quaker meeting houses in existence. St Margaret’s Church – It was built in the 13th Century on the site of a 10th Century church in Ifield which was then merely a small settlement surrounding the church. St Nicholas’ Church – In Pound Hill the church was thought to have been built in the 10th Century and be of Saxon origin. For that era the church is thought to be unusually tall and wide. Tilgate Forest in Tilgate Park has a part in the history of palaeontology; famous doctor and palaeontologist Gideon Mantell discovered many of his finest specimens here in the 1820s which had been recovered from the Mesozoic era.

10. PLACES TO EAT There are many places to eat in Crawley whether you are out shopping at the County Mall or the High Street, fancy going out for a romantic meal or whether you simply fancy a take away. Here are some of our favourite places to eat: • Fatboys Joint on The Broadway is a Middle Eastern cuisine voted number on in restaurants in Crawley. They are open every day from 12pm until 10.30pm. • Lemongrass Thai cuisine on the High Street is open all week 12pm – 2.30pm and 5.30pm- 11pm. With traditional Thai service Lemongrass serves classic yet innovative dishes in a modern, stylish venue. • Real Barbeque and Bar in Pound Hill offers breakfast, lunch, takeout and delivery of their unique steak and barbeque Turkish food. Open 11am until 12am they have many specials such as the Early Bird- eat before 6pm and get a free dessert, 10% off when you bring a party of 10 or more and lunch time specials (from 11.30am - 1.30pm). • Taormina Restaurant is an Italian cuisine in the High Street open from 11am to 11pm, seven days a week, all year round. They have a traditional Sicilian menu consisting of a wide selection of fish dishes, traditional pasta dishes and even a gluten free menu. • Offering a taste of the Caribbean in West Sussex, Turtle Bay on the High Street is open Sunday until Wednesday 11.30am – 11.00pm, Thursday 11.30am – midnight and Friday and Saturday 11.30am – 1.00pm.

11. PUBS If pubs are more your thing you could try: • The Hillside Inn in Pound Hill, a rustic pub with a beer garden and serving hearty, seasonal food. • The Frogshole Farm in Maidenbower is a rural country pub with a wood-beamed and an open fire. • The Old Punch Bowl on the High Street is a medieval timber framed hall house built in the early 15th century, now it serves delicious food all day. • Snooty Fox in Three Bridges has simple food and cask ales plus a pool table and TV sports. • Heathy Farm is a 500-year-old farmhouse in Tinsley Green serving classic pub food with a cosy atmosphere and a large beer garden.

12. Contact Us Greenaway Residential Estate Agents Boscobel House, 109 High Street, Crawley West Sussex. RH10 1DD T 01293 561188 www.greenawayresidential.com