11 September 2025

Located in a prime position within Crawley’s Gatwick Diamond area, the Manor Royal Business Improvement District (BID) is one of the south east’s most significant mixed activity employment hubs.

Situated adjacent to London Gatwick Airport on the West Sussex and Surrey borders, the BID offers space for over 600 businesses, generating 30,000 jobs across its 540-acre site.

The ever-popular Manor Royal BID is home to a wide range of businesses, spanning everything from global brands to smaller businesses and local enterprises. With such a diverse blend of occupiers, the infrastructure and transport networks across the site are vital for supporting business operations, ensuring they remain efficient, safe and sustainable whilst also offering an attractive and engaging place for workers, visitors and customers alike.

Ten years of project support

To enable this, our infrastructure, civil engineering and arboricultural specialists have been partnering with Manor Royal BID since 2015. Throughout this time, we’ve supported the delivery of a wide range of schemes, including everything from feature site entrances, wayfinding, green spaces, art installations, and highway improvements.

Commenting on our long-term partnership with Manor Royal BID, Juliet Harshaw, Waterman’s Associate for Infrastructure and Environment and project lead, said: “We’ve worked within Manor Royal for many years, and have developed lasting partnerships with both the client and Allen Scott Landscape Architecture. We have helped upgrade both transport networks and green spaces in a variety of ways, each project being unique and yet so important in assisting the BID with their vision for the area. Every project has had its technical challenges, but the relationships we have built with the client and Allen Scott allow us to overcome these as a team. From the very start, Manor Royal BID’s Executive Director Steve Sawyer and his team have always called on us to assist with a fascinating range of unique projects, and I am proud to have been part of the team bringing the BID’s visions to reality.”

Reflecting on the partnerships and vision behind Manor Royal BID’s regeneration, Steve Sawyer, Manor Royal BID’s Executive Director, said: “Our ability to transform Manor Royal depends upon reclaiming redundant, sometimes awkward parcels of underused and neglected land and reimagining them as attractive places for people and business. This takes vision, imagination and a solution-focussed approach to overcome the challenges working in this area can present. In Waterman we have found those qualities and together we have made a positive difference to the business district, with more to come.”

Public transport redefined with first UK bus ‘Superhub’

Recently completed, the latest upgrade has seen the delivery of the UK’s first bus ‘Superhub’. Aiming to redefine what a bus stop can be, the Superhub incorporates art installation, micro park, and seating area, all designed to make this functional space more engaging whilst also providing a valuable biodiversity boost.

The project was developed in partnership with West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council and Manor Royal BID, and complements the wider work done through the Councils’ Bus Service Improvement Plans to improve the area, enhancing the reliability of local buses and reducing passenger journey times.

The scheme’s centrepiece is a striking piece of public art, named ‘Keki’s Fusion,’ which was created by local award-winning artist and architect Karl Singporewala. Stood atop tripod ‘piston’ legs, the six-metre high weathered-steel star sculpture was fabricated and installed by Cake Industries.

In a recent statement, Steve Sawyer said: “This is not just a first for Manor Royal, it’s a first anywhere and sets the quality standard for bus users and for employees. As well as providing a better a place to catch a bus, it also provides a place to sit and rest as part of our mission to make sure no one in Manor Royal is more than five minutes away from decent outdoor space. We have had to overcome a host of problems to get here but we did it. I’d like to thank everyone who shared our passion and our vision to get this done.”

Plotting a course to success

Working closely with Allen Scott Landscape Architecture, bus shelter designers Jedco, and Karl Singporewala, our team initially provided engineering and arboricultural support services to assist with the outline design and planning. We then took on a project management role, coordinating the design team as well as carrying out buried services investigations, handling associated approvals including a S278 agreement, preparing contract documentation, and overseeing works onsite during construction.

Discussing our role in this latest scheme, Juliet Harshaw commented: “Continuing our long-standing relationship with Manor Royal BID, we supported the design and delivery of the bus Superhub, providing comprehensive engineering and project management services to help bring this innovative transport solution to life. This key infrastructure upgrade will enhance everyday journeys for local residents, workers, and visitors, and it has been a privilege to work with the team on this important scheme.”

Want to find out more about how we’re unlocking the potential of transport and infrastructure schemes? Click here to head to our dedicated webpage.

‘Superhub’ images – © Jon Rigby