The initial stage of the Manor Royal highway improvement scheme in Crawley has been successfully completed in time for the seasonal break.

Improvements have been made to the busy junction of County Oak Way and London Road, with the upgrading of crossing units, signal heads, lane marking and the provision of a new bus stop. The project will now pause until the New Year.

The scheme is part of the Crawley Growth Programme - a £60million package of improvements across the town to support business investment and employment growth, bringing together various partners including the County Council, Crawley Borough Council, Manor Royal BID and Coast to Capital.

As part of this exciting programme, more than £3million is being directly invested in the Manor Royal Business District to improve key junctions, cycling and walking facilities, traffic signals and includes a new eastbound bus lane on Manor Royal. These improvements will be delivered in two main phases. Full details, including a plan and virtual fly-through are available on the Manor Royal BID website www.manorroyal.org/cgp

Bob Lanzer, County Council Cabinet Member for the Crawley Growth Programme, said: "It's great to see this next part of the Crawley Growth Programme starting up with the direct benefit that it will provide to the Manor Royal Business District, one of the biggest business parks in the south-east region. The first phase of the project will see highway improvements that encourage more sustainable transport modes to deepen the environmental credentials that modern, progressive business parks will want to offer to current and prospective enterprises."

Councillor Peter Smith, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development at Crawley Borough Council, said: “We welcome these improvements to transport infrastructure in Manor Royal as they will give people more options to get around this area, whether they are visiting in their car, by bus, by bike or on foot. We hope that this will enable more people to make travel choices that are better for them and for the environment when they visit in future.”

Steve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BID, said: “Our research, including feedback from businesses, has consistently emphasised the importance of making improvements to the transport infrastructure. This held true even during the pandemic. It is encouraging to see the investment now being made and those ideas captured by our Transport Study being brought to life through the Crawley Growth Programme that will complement the private sector investment we are starting to see and pave the way to a stronger recovery.”

www.manorroyal.org/cgp

Date Published: 24/11/2021