Crawley Town Hall is a proposed municipal structure in The Boulevard,

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England. The structure is currently under construction and is intended for use as the headquarters of

Crawley Borough Council Crawley Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Crawley, in the county of West Sussex, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, either two or three for each of the 13 wards in the district. It is currently controlled by th ...

History

Following significant population growth associated with the development of the new town, Crawley became an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

in 1956. The new council leaders decided to commission a town hall and acquired a site on the north side of The Boulevard from

Crawley Development Corporation Crawley Development Corporation was set up in February 1947 by the Government of the United Kingdom to establish, administer and control the development of the New Town of Crawley in accordance with the New Towns Act 1946. The Corporation had t ...

in May 1958. The building was designed by Max Clendinning of Brown Henson & Partners in the

Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

, built in concrete and glass and was officially opened by the

Secretary of State for Education and Science The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Ca ...

, Michael Stewart on 14 November 1964. The design of the old town hall involved a six-storey block which was

canted Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a lan ...

forward over the main entrance and also extended to the rear behind the front elevation. It was attached to the east, via a long low-rise connecting block, to an auditorium known as the "Civic Hall". The complex was faced with alternating bands of concrete and windows. The principal room in the town hall was the council chamber, which was furnished in a minimalist style. The

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

, ''

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

'', performed in the civic hall in April 1965. In February 2017, council leaders decided that the old complex was no longer fit-for-purpose and, despite a petition to save it, they initiated demolition of the complex in January 2020. They also signed a contract for a new town hall to be erected on the site of the old civic hall. Construction on the new building began in spring 2020. The new building was designed by Cartwright Pickard in the

International Style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...

, built by

Kier Group Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative. Founded in 1928 in Stoke-on-Trent it initially specialised in concrete enginee ...

in concrete and glass and was due to be completed in late 2022. The design involved a nine-storey square-shaped building: the lower storeys were reserved for municipal use while the upper storeys made available for commercial tenants. At the southwest corner of the building, the lower two floors were recessed to create an entrance and a large carving of the borough coat of arms was installed there in August 2022.

References

{{Crawley City and town halls in West Sussex Buildings and structures in Crawley