Case Studies
Crawley Towns Fund Business Case development
The Towns Fund is a £3.6bn economic development fund administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), aimed at accelerating the regeneration of towns to deliver long term economic and productivity growth. In 2019, the government invited 101 towns to submit a Town Investment Plan (TIP) as the first stage in the process. Each town could apply for up to £25m of predominantly capital funding over a five year period.
Having received a total of £21.1 million from the Towns Fund, Crawley Borough Council appointed Deyton Bell to deliver Business Case support for their Towns Fund programme in June 2021.
To learn more about this project of how we can help your organisation or economy, get in touch:
Neil Darwin
neildarwin@deytonbell.com
+ 44 (0) 7867 128975
From start to delivery
Deyton Bell undertook the development of the business case for each of the projects. We delivered each Business Case using the 5 Business Case model based on the HM Treasury Green Book and associated Project Summary documents which enabled submission to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by March 2022. We provided a range of advice to the Council and its stakeholders including on project development, options consideration and appraisal and advising on monitoring and evaluation.
Preparation through to submission
We prepared all five cases (Strategic, Economic, Financial, Management and Commercial) to Full Business Case level. A total of 7 Business Cases were developed, these are set out below.
1.
Green business infrastructure/tech grants
Spilt across two projects, one focused on creating a programme of business infrastructure grants to attract “green” technology and construction businesses to take up premises in Manor Royal and help Crawley business adopt “sustainable energy” provision with the creation of “Re-energise” Management Company in Manor Royal. The second project focused on the delivery of “green construction” Crawley workforce skills training. The development and provision of a programme of green construction skills, available to Crawley residents, particularly those being made redundant, was seen as critical to the ability for the borough to develop a “green construction” business base and diversity into a green economy to attract green technology and construction businesses.
2.
An investment programme in priority arterial and segregated cycle track
Linking key employment destinations. This project has two sections. Value of project: £2 million.
3.
Designing a new Cultural Quarter in the town centre
The project focused on the design of a new cultural quarter in the town centre will map out the prospective location of new cultural and events venues and produce associated site designs and an overall delivery plan, which will include how the town centre’s existing leisure, culture and evening economy provision will be enhanced and expanded. This would unlock the development and delivery of a “pop up” programme of cultural, arts and creative industry interventions to help pump prime the development of the cultural quarter. This will involve stakeholders from the town centre’s cultural and leisure economy
4.
Manor Royal Micro Parks
The project sought to bring forward initiatives to transform the business environment of the Manor Royal Business Park. Public realm upgrades via delivery of a programme of business environment upgrades and modernisation, including micropark upgrades, creating a more attractive business environment.
5.
Borough-wide home improvements
This project focused on “green” home retrofitting of 400 homes to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, the design, establishment and delivery of a local grants programme will be needed to help deliver sustainable homes. This project was also designed to stimulate business, economic activity and job creation in green construction.
6.
Transform Crawley Bus Station
This project focused on the delivery of a state-of-the-art transport interchange in the heart of Crawley town centre. A key objective of the project is to tackle stubbornly high carbon emissions, rising in the transport sector.
7.
Design and develop new “arterial” cycle routes
The business case was focused on establish off-road segregated cycle connections between Gatwick Airport, Manor Royal, the town centre and key neighbourhoods, in order to maximise “active commuting”.
Crawley’s Town Investment Plan
The Town Investment Plan highlights the projects that will help the town embrace its full potential and ensure the town can absorb more investment in the future. It also takes into consideration the impact of the pandemic on Crawley, Gatwick Airport and the local economy, and seeks to deliver transformative regeneration schemes, which will unlock jobs and boost economic activity.
The projects are guided by the Crawley Town Deal Board an established group of more than 50 representatives from local businesses, community organisations and public organisations.
Client quote example: Neil and the team at Deyton Bell analysed every aspect of our organisation, activities and partnerships and provided tangible plans which we’ve been able to implement – with the support guiding all decisions along the journey.
James Smith, Sheffield University
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