The new Crawley Innovation Centre will be located in the former Travel House building in the heart of the Manor Royal Business District.
The building, previously occupied by Tui, is in the Crawley Business Quarter on Fleming Way.
The 24,594 sq ft office building has now been purchased by Crawley Borough Council for £4.55m via Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) £8.65m Getting Building Fund grants secured by the council.
The building will be converted into the Crawley Innovation Centre to bring a much-needed economic, innovation and technological boost to the town.
The centre will help create more than 200 new jobs and benefit directly up to 40 businesses. In the longer term, the aim is to help attract significant new manufacturing business investment into Crawley, including at new industrial space in Manor Royal.
The Crawley Innovation Centre will also:
The project is a major priority in Crawley’s Economic Recovery Plan 2022-2037 and it is also closely aligned to the Coast to Capital plan to Build Back Smarter, Stronger and Greener.
The Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board has approved a total of £8.65 million funding from the government’s Getting Building Fund to enable the centre’s conversion and launch by the end of 2023.
The project has also secured £2.5 million from the Crawley Towns Fund programme to invest in the operational establishment of the centre
Councillor Peter Smith, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development at Crawley Borough Council said;
"This is a huge milestone in this major project and fantastic news for Crawley. The Crawley Innovation Centre is central to several key themes of our economic recovery, including skills, new jobs, new businesses, diversification and our move to a greener future.The council is very grateful to the LEP for approving this funding; without it the project would not have come to fruition"
Julie Kapsalis, Chair, Coast to Capital said;
"Once complete, the centre will bring together major innovation-led businesses, building on the existing strengths of Crawley-based technology industries, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attract more high value businesses into the area and cement our status as a leading part of the country driving innovation and trade"
Chris Maidment, Chair, Crawley Town Deal Board
"We are grateful to the support from Coast to Capital that has enabled us to proceed with this very exciting project. I also thank a number of organisations which have cooperated in helping bring this to fruition. The project will be central to addressing a number of our key themes around economic recovery, especially skills and green technologies. This should create opportunities for new businesses and new jobs for Crawley residents"
Steve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BID said;
"For many years local partners and stakeholders have been aware of the need for better supporting facilities and services in Manor Royal, a concept described as the "Business Hub". The introduction of the Innovation centre is is an important investment in the future of Manor Royal, the local community and economic growth more widely. Congratulations to the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership and Crawley Borough Council for making this happen in the Business District"
