Could a green recovery help the Crawley take off? - From the Manor

By Steve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BID
Published 22nd Apr 2021, 07:43 BST
Updated 22nd Apr 2021, 07:46 BST
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For as long as I have been working in economic development the town has been somewhat conflicted about its relationship and so-called over-reliance on Gatwick Airport.

The 1950s ‘industrialists’ were concerned about Gatwick becoming an international airport for the pressure it would create, not least in terms of competition for jobs and wage inflation.

More recently there have been fears that if ‘Gatwick catches a cold (economically) then Crawley catches a cold’ and all the while, lurking in the background, is the prospect of a new runway.

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Steve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BIDSteve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BID
Steve Sawyer, Executive Director, Manor Royal BID

A look at the numbers reinforces this perception of vulnerability. By some estimates, almost a fifth of all Crawley jobs are in the aviation sector. It is no surprise then that Crawley has been reported to be one of the hardest hit by the COVID crisis, with spikes in unemployment, furloughed staff and calls from local politicians for more Government help.

But what is the answer? I have been around policy makers for long enough to know that talk of creating a more diverse, less aviation reliant economy is easier said than done.

The fact is we have a superb international airport that is hungry to grow and, normally, hungry for jobs. Rather than becoming a more diminished contributor to our economy it is likely to be a bigger contributor in the future.