Crawley
§ This page gives an overview of the Crawley local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Crawley, in West Sussex, is a modern New Town, with a planned layout of neighbourhoods, parks, and shopping areas. The town centre includes the County Mall, theatre, and cultural venues, while Tilgate Park provides lakes, gardens, and woodland. Gatwick Airport lies to the north, shaping the district’s identity as a major transport hub. Crawley is surrounded by farmland, streams, and countryside, balancing urban growth with natural spaces.
The administrative boundary of Crawley can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Crawley.
Key Facts about Crawley
What region is Crawley in? Crawley is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Crawley in? Crawley is located in the county of West Sussex.
Is Crawley a city? No, Crawley is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Crawley? The local authority for this district is: Crawley Borough Council - responsible for district-level services. Since West Sussex is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: West Sussex County Council.
▶ Official website of Crawley Borough Council 🔗 crawley.gov.uk
Which police force covers Crawley? Policing in Crawley is provided by Sussex Police 🔗 sussex.police.uk, which serves 13 local authority districts: Adur ⁞ Arun ⁞ Brighton and Hove ⁞ Chichester ⁞ Crawley ⁞ Eastbourne ⁞ Hastings ⁞ Horsham ⁞ Lewes ⁞ Mid Sussex ⁞ Rother ⁞ Wealden ⁞ Worthing.
Constituencies in Crawley
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Crawley
Crawley is divided into 13 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bewbush & North Broadfield
- Broadfield
- Furnace Green
- Gossops Green & North East Broadfield
- Ifield
- Langley Green & Tushmore
- Maidenbower
- Northgate & West Green
- Pound Hill North & Forge Wood
- Pound Hill South & Worth
- Southgate
- Three Bridges
- Tilgate
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Parishes in Crawley
Crawley is entirely unparished—there are no civil parishes in this local authority district.
Parishes are the lowest tier of local government; where they don’t exist, those very local services and representation sit directly with the principal council.
Built-up Areas in Crawley
Crawley covers 8 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Burstow *
- Copthorne *
- Crawley (Crawley) *
- Hookwood *
- Horley (Reigate and Banstead) *
- Pease Pottage *
- Shipley Bridge *
- Tinsley Green
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Crawley.)
Crawley compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Crawley compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Crawley has 13 electoral wards.
Crawley has a population of 124,008 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Crawley can be found on the ONS statistics for Crawley.