Plans to build three blocks of flats – one of them 11 storeys high – above a town centre Poundland store have been turned down.
The application was submitted by Crawley Square 2014 LLP, which had been working on the Queens Square project since before the coronavirus pandemic.
But the scheme, to demolish the buildings at 14-19 Queens Square and replace them with the three blocks of flats, was rejected by Crawley Borough Council’s Planning Committee yesterday (Wednesday 2 September).
While recognising the need for more housing, the plans – which would have created 66 homes – did not go down well with councillors.
Labour councillor Sue Mullins, who represents Northgate and West Green, said that she was “quite shocked” by the application, describing the scheme as a “carbuncle” and looking like “someone has got a chunk of Lego and stuck it on top”.
Had the plans been approved, the shop would have remained on the ground floor, while the empty offices above would have been converted into flats.
Extra floors would have been added, leaving six storeys facing Queens Square, 11 storeys facing The Boulevard and six storeys on a block in between the two.
Conservative councillor Thomas Bidwell, who represents Pound Hill South and Worth, also criticised the proposals.
He said that it would be “out of place and confused” compared with other work carried out in the square such as the building of the Pavilion and the coming renovation of the former Decathlon building.
No objections were received about the effect that the flats would have on the recently designated Queens Square and The Broadway Conservation Area.
In a report to the Planning Committee, officials said that it would “contribute positively and reinforce the new town character of the town centre”.
But Reform UK councillor Grainne Conway, who represents Ifield, said: “It is an existing not very attractive building and this is making it look worse.”
The application was refused on the grounds that the design, height, size and massing would be out of character with the area and would “fail to preserve or enhance” the character of the conservation area.
To view the application, log on to planningregister.crawley.gov.uk and search for CR/2025/0290/FUL.
