What issues matter to voters in Crawley's local elections?

Damaged play parks, a lack of nursery places, housing developments destroying green spaces and a patchwork of potholes on the roads.

These are just some of the concerns of Crawley voters, concerns they want to see addressed by the candidates vying to become their new councillors.

On 7 May, voters will decide who they want to represent them on both Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council.

Between them, the two authorities are responsible for everything from rubbish collections to schools, meaning these upcoming elections will affect how nearly all of Crawley's public services are run.

BBC South East recently spent time in the area, hearing first-hand about the issues most important to residents. We began the day at Jungle Tots toddler group.

Ronald Brestovic is a baggage handler at Gatwick Airport and struggles to afford nursery care for their child. He said his wife, who also works at the airport, had to take a career break as they could not find childcare that would work around their shift patterns.

"We cannot afford to go to nursery at the moment because [to access] the scheme of support, both of the parents have to work to get into the system," said Ronald.

"My wife has taken a career break to be with the little one instead of spending more money on the nursery, which we'd still struggle to access because there's not enough spaces.

"It's complicated to find a solution. More options would be very useful."

Victoria Brown is a mother-of-two who has also criticised the lack of affordable childcare and play facilities, especially during the school holidays.

"When I was younger there were a lot of play centres, it would be nice to see more of that thing again, where people could take their children and it was affordable," she said.

"With things like soft play, sometimes, for me to take my two children it's £30 just for the soft play, that's not including food, drinks, and then I haven't got any money for the rest of the time."

Zoe Card is a mother-of-one, who told us that although she was aware of the need for more social housing, she did not want to see green spaces sacrificed.

"So much of the nature is disappearing for new houses, and it would be nice actually to keep some of it," she said.

"How much nature do we have left?"

Zoe also said she would like to see Crawley's play park repaired and upgraded.

"With our local one, the flooring's torn, very easy to trip over," she said.

"It's quite nice, especially in the summer, you've got really great parks, but they're just not 100%."

At lunchtime, we popped into the Revive Cafe and chatted with some of the regular customers.

Andy Coleman, a former government project engineer, said the thing that worried him most was unaffordable housing in the town.

"I know it's a national issue too but it's also a local issue here," he said.

Andy also criticised a lack of adequate social housing.

"There's been a lot of flats built, we know some people in there who have three children and themselves in a two-bedroom flat, and that's unacceptable in my view.

"Sure, they have somewhere to live, but it's not ideal is it, let's be honest."

Maria Youngman-Allen is a former hairdresser and grandmother of five. At the top of her list is safety in the community.

"You don't see a policeman when you need a policeman," she said.

"I've been in Crawley for nearly 40 years and it's changed a lot, it's not as comfortable as it used to be.

"You pay a lot for council tax, far too much as far as I'm concerned, and it needs to be better, better surroundings and for the community itself."

In the afternoon, we visited Broadfield Mosque to chat with the imam and members of the congregation.

Ismail Miya, a student, told us: "Where I live in Three Bridges, there's a road that's patched up every six months, it's not exactly getting the job done.

"Every time I drive round, I'm having to swerve like I'm an F1 driver, it's not exactly the best feeling. Tyres aren't cheap.

"If the job is done properly once, you don't have to do it again."

Arif Syed said he wanted to see the town centre regenerated to attract businesses and boost the local economy.

"Over several years it's been run down, the charity shops are creeping up all the time and the proper businesses are closing down," said Arif.

"I'd like to see the council do something to regenerate the town centre so it attracts more people. There could be several reasons why it's on the decline, but something can be done, I'm sure.

"One element might be the parking issues, people can see that it's expensive, there never was a charge before, but I do understand [the council] has budget pressures.

"I want to see the town centre become vibrant again."

Imam Mohammad Huzaifa Bora told us the mosque encourages the congregation to engage with local democracy and take part in local elections, but he said he did not guide them on which party to vote for.

The most important issue in Crawley for Mohammad is investment in youth services, ensuring young people have a safe place to go where they can enjoy productive activities.

"That is one of the things we are lacking, and if a council can pay more attention - of course they are doing good work, but there's always room to improve," he said.

"The youth are the future of Crawley, the future generations. If they are sorted, then our future is sorted.

Sixty-eight candidates are contesting 13 seats on Crawley Borough Council.

The authority currently has 35 councillors across 13 wards - 25 Labour and 10 Conservative.

Seats on all wards, except for Gossops Green & North East Broadfield, are up for grabs, with two in Three Bridges due to the recent resignation of Conservative councillor Brenda Burgess.

People in Crawley will also elect nine councillors to represent them on West Sussex County Council.

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