Crawley
New Town 1947, planned around Gatwick. Airport now 10th busiest in Europe. Manor Royal: 600 businesses, 30,000 jobs. £2.2B Northern Runway approved 2025 (14,000 new jobs, £1B/year impact).
Crawley was planned around an airport. In 1947, the town became one of the first six new towns designated under the New Towns Act—specifically to accommodate London's population overspill and support Gatwick's expansion. The existing market town, villages of Three Bridges and Ifield, and surrounding hamlets were absorbed into a planned community.
Gatwick's growth defined Crawley's growth. The airport began as a 1930s aerodrome; the 'Beehive' terminal opened in 1936. After wartime military use, commercial operations expanded until Gatwick became Britain's second-busiest international airport. In 2024, it ranked tenth busiest in Europe. The town expanded in 1974 to formally include the airport within its boundaries.
The economy reflects proximity to aviation. Manor Royal business park hosts over 600 businesses and 30,000 jobs across 540 acres. Data centers—CoreWeave, Digital Realty—consume power and provide cloud services. Crawley has one of the highest GVAs in the South East and the second-largest job density.
In September 2025, the Northern Runway Project received approval—a £2.2 billion expansion to bring the standby runway into regular use, increasing annual capacity to 80 million passengers. The project will create approximately 14,000 new jobs and inject £1 billion annually into the regional economy. The Sussex and Surrey Institute of Technology opened in Crawley to train the future workforce.
By 2026, Crawley's expansion continues: an airport town becoming an airport city.