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Crawley .... like being in a third world country











Sussex Nomad

Well-known member
Aug 26, 2010
18,185
EP
Well i never knew that, you learn something new every day !

I was there on the night, knew the doorman and knew of the person that perished. Wasn't a great time, but I am just saying it can happen anywhere, not just in Crawley.
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,947
Surrey
This is all a bit silly - yes there are bits of Crawley that are most undesirable but there are bits of Brighton that are undesirable too. There are bits of virtually every town that are undesirable. I live in Reigate - "the friendly little town at the foot of the Downs" as it is wont to describe itself and there are bits of that area that I feel concerned about visiting. Probably 90% of the OP's point could be made about most towns in the South east of the country (and likely further afield too) with their identikit shopping centres, boarded up shops,black (and white) faces speaking incomprehensible languages,drink and drug related problems etc etc
I used to have to visit Hampstead and I previously had had the impression that Hampstead was a decent place but I soon discovered that next to the really nice roads with their big houses, expensive cars and all the trappings of middle class sophistication were really bad, run down areas. It's the same everywhere

Agree with all of this. Except the bit about Reigate, where I also live. Seriously, what bit of Reigate would you be concerned about visiting?
 






Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,283
Back in Sussex
Agree with all of this. Except the bit about Reigate, where I also live. Seriously, what bit of Reigate would you be concerned about visiting?

The White Hart and environs?

http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/reigate-surrey.html

"Reigate, jewel in the crown of the Surrey Hills market towns, has at last succumbed to the tidal wave of Chavity sweeping our nation. She tried for so long to fend off advances from neighbouring Redhill and Woodhatch (hotbeds of pikiness), but the virus has found a breeding ground in the White Hart (Church Street)."
 


Mo Gosfield

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2010
6,362
Crawley was one of the first wave of ' New Towns ' designated after the last War. These were all strategically sited beyond the green belt around London, in the Home Counties. Others included Stevenage, Hemel, Welwyn, Harlow, Basildon and Bracknell. There was already a core there, in the first place. Bracknell was a lovely old town, with cobbled high street, pond, cricket ground and pubs. It was an old staging post between London and Bristol. Likewise, Crawley had a lot of character, the George being one of the original buildings. The blue print was similar for all of them. Six to eight local community areas, with a small neighbourhood centre, containing shops and a pub. Each area was linked with dual carriageways for ease of access and lots of roundabouts feeding into them. For years most residents took the bus or drove into the town centre to do their shopping.
The subsequent development of fringe superstores took a lot of trade out of these town centres and today, the result is endless boarded up units, charity shops, estate agents and banks ( with reduced opening hours ) Most superstores are free to park, easier to park and accessible. Local councils discourage the impulse shop, with parking restrictions and charges everywhere in town centres.
Crawley is no different to many places. From the lovely old market towns that have lost so much of their trade and identity and the larger towns like Crawley, that now rely on general discount stores for their footfall, rather than the higher class specialist retailer that used to bring in business and has now been decimated by online shopping. These places used to be shopping centres. Now they are just rather tired town centres, used by kids on a Saturday afternoon, to meet up with their mates and browse through cheap clothes stores, looking to buy a wardrobe for £20.
 








Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,947
Surrey
The White Hart and environs?

http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/reigate-surrey.html

"Reigate, jewel in the crown of the Surrey Hills market towns, has at last succumbed to the tidal wave of Chavity sweeping our nation. She tried for so long to fend off advances from neighbouring Redhill and Woodhatch (hotbeds of pikiness), but the virus has found a breeding ground in the White Hart (Church Street)."
But Woodhatch is not that bad and there is no White Hart.


Edit: In fact, I refer you to the comment at the bottom of the page.
 




alfredmizen

Banned
Mar 11, 2015
6,342
I was there on the night, knew the doorman and knew of the person that perished. Wasn't a great time, but I am just saying it can happen anywhere, not just in Crawley.
I agree, like [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] says, crawley is no better or worse than 90% of places .
 


alfredmizen

Banned
Mar 11, 2015
6,342
Agree with all of this. Except the bit about Reigate, where I also live. Seriously, what bit of Reigate would you be concerned about visiting?
Your house , apparently you make a diabolical cup of tea.
 


8ace

Banned
Jul 21, 2003
23,811
Brighton
The only time I ever go to Crawley is for our pre-season friendly or if I have to catch a rail replacement bus.
 








Withdean11

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2007
2,908
Brighton/Hyde
Crawley is a complete dump. Maidenbour, Pound Hill and Worth being the exception. But the rest of it is a complete and utter shithole. I have had the displeasure of spending quite a bit of time there.

Also a fairly high number of Palace fans around. Says it all.
 






Sussex Nomad

Well-known member
Aug 26, 2010
18,185
EP
Crawley was one of the first wave of ' New Towns ' designated after the last War. These were all strategically sited beyond the green belt around London, in the Home Counties. Others included Stevenage, Hemel, Welwyn, Harlow, Basildon and Bracknell. There was already a core there, in the first place. Bracknell was a lovely old town, with cobbled high street, pond, cricket ground and pubs. It was an old staging post between London and Bristol. Likewise, Crawley had a lot of character, the George being one of the original buildings. The blue print was similar for all of them. Six to eight local community areas, with a small neighbourhood centre, containing shops and a pub. Each area was linked with dual carriageways for ease of access and lots of roundabouts feeding into them. For years most residents took the bus or drove into the town centre to do their shopping.
The subsequent development of fringe superstores took a lot of trade out of these town centres and today, the result is endless boarded up units, charity shops, estate agents and banks ( with reduced opening hours ) Most superstores are free to park, easier to park and accessible. Local councils discourage the impulse shop, with parking restrictions and charges everywhere in town centres.
Crawley is no different to many places. From the lovely old market towns that have lost so much of their trade and identity and the larger towns like Crawley, that now rely on general discount stores for their footfall, rather than the higher class specialist retailer that used to bring in business and has now been decimated by online shopping. These places used to be shopping centres. Now they are just rather tired town centres, used by kids on a Saturday afternoon, to meet up with their mates and browse through cheap clothes stores, looking to buy a wardrobe for £20.

You may have possibly picked some of that up from a Wiki somewhere or another, but I agree with what you say. But all town centres are suffering the same demise due to out of centre stores and online shopping. I live in Gossops Green and I don't have to go to Crawley town centre when I have so many other places to go (Brighton included). And I don't like them charging me a minimum of £3.50 to park on Broadway when they are so desperate for people to go shop there. The building that makes up the railway station is abysmal, as is the town hall. But getting out of the town centre is a great place. And as I said previously, the road and train links are superb. I can get to the Amex in 40 minutes. I can get to London in the same time. I have an international airport on my doorstep. I also love other towns in Sussex, in fact I just love Sussex. Gods country. So I'll always defend it, except Hastings lol
 




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