Long-awaited plans to refurbish and modernise the building which housed Crawley’s first department store have been approved by the borough council.
The application from Galgorm Properties for the four-storey Decathlon building in Queens Square, was given the nod by the planning committee on Tuesday (January 27).
The refurbishment plans have been in the pipeline since 2022 but stalled when water neutrality requirements were introduced – requirements the committee was told there had really been no way to meet. Now they have been lifted, the application can go forward.
In its day, the building, known as the Queensway department store, was the jewel of the new town centre – hailed in 1959 as ‘Britain’s most modern store’.
But those days have long gone and, as was said by Sue Mullins (Lab, Northgate & West Green), the building is looking ‘very sorry for itself, very shabby, very sad’.
While Decathlon occupies the ground and first floors, the second and third floors have been empty for years. The refurbishment will see them converted into office space and meeting rooms, while the third floor will also contain a double-height conference centre.
To allow for this, the height of the building will be increased by 3.5m, with a parapet wall added to screen any rooftop equipment.
As for the exterior of the building, its vertical columns will be covered in curved turquoise ceramic cladding from first floor upwards. The ground floor will be clad with precast grey concrete.
As a nod to the building’s past, a metal latticework feature, similar to the one that was originally in place, will be included.
The refurbishment work was largely welcomed by the committee.
Imran Ashraf (Lab, Langley Green & Tushmore) said: “Any sort of improvement work on this building is welcome. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the town centre.”
Olu Adeniyi (Lab, Tilgate) said he loved the colour, calling it ‘modern’, and said the changes would bring life to the building.
While Julian Charatan (Lab, Ifield) wasn’t sure if the proporals fit in with the heritage of the area, he added: “Anything is an improvement on what we have at the moment.”
To view the application, log on to planningregister.crawley.gov.uk and search for CR/2022/0736/FUL.
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