Plans to modernise building in the heart of Crawley submitted

The application, from Galgorm Properties, seeks to transform the four-storey Decathlon building, in Queens Square.

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.

While Decathlon and its range of sports goods have brought things to life, brightening up the bottom two floors, the top two look out over the refurbished Queens Square with rather tired, run-down eyes.

Exhibitions in County Mall formed part of a public consultation in October, with those who took part being shown a range of colours and other suggestions for the building.

A report from Like Architects said most preferred aqua / turquoise as the primary colour for the ceramic cladding.

The plans call for a change of use of the upper floors to allow for a range of commercial and business uses as well as local community use.

As for the building itself, the application shows an increase in its height to screen raised sections of the roof and mask the plant equipment needed to service the refurbished building.

If approved, the work is expected to be complete by March 2025.

The town has seen a range of investments, from the new town hall, to a brand new railway station.

To view the application in full, log on to planningregister.crawley.gov.uk and search for CR/2022/0736/FUL.