Bewbush is one of 14 neighbourhoods in Crawley in West Sussex, England. Bewbush is located in south west Crawley and is bordered by Broadfield to the south, Ifield to the north, Kilnwood Vale to the west and Gossops Green to the north east. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 9,000. History A park was recorded at Bewbush as early as 1295. It was a manor which later became known as the Holmbush Estate. The manor belonged for most of the twentieth century to the Clifton Brown family. In 1973, some were purchased by Crawley Borough Council. The manor house was first mentioned in the early 14th century, although this no longer remains. A building with some 17th-century elements remains, although it was clad in brick in the 19th century. The building now stands amid modern developments in the neighbourhood. The borough council began development of the new neighbourhood of Bewbush in 1974, with a leisure centre opening in 1984, and a shopping parade the following year. Additional land was brought into the borough of Crawley from Lower Beeding in 1983 to see the extension of the neighbourhood to reach its capacity population of 9000. Development of the neighbourhood continued into the 1990s. Governance Bewbush neighbourhood is a co-terminus with the local government ward of Bewbush in the Borough of Crawley. It is also a ward of the upper-tier authority of West Sussex County Council. The neighbourhood forms part of the parliamentary constituency of Crawley. Demography As at the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 9081. The neighbourhood has a younger population than the national average, with some 77% of residents being aged under 45, compared to 60% nationally. This is also reflected in the average age of the residents at 29, compared to 37 nationally. Around 90% of the properties in the neighbourhood are terraced properties or flats. The vast majority of the properties were originally council-owned, with over one-third remaining owned by the local authority of other social landlords. There is an ethnically diverse population in the neighbourhood, with a large proportion (17.3%) of black and ethnic minority groups represented. This is reflected in the area's large Hindu and Muslim populations which are both well above the national averages at 9% and 5% respectively. In terms of social classification, the neighbourhood is made up of approximately 45% in the ABC1 grouping, compared to the national figures