There has long been a light-hearted debate about whether the Maidenbower neighbourhood in Crawley is a village or an estate ((its an estate)) but now the BBC seem to be saying that Crawley itself is a village according to this story.It says:
Amateur photographer Ian Scotland spent two months taking pictures of people who have lived and worked in Crawley.
and then:
The images are on display at The Haven Centre in Crawley and will be archived before going on display again in 50 years time.
Mr Scotland said: “The thing that I’ve got out of it is the greater appreciation of the community spirit that exists here.
“It’s been quite remarkable the number of comments we’ve had around people wanting the village to remain as it is and keep that sense of community.”
“Haven Centre” is a bit of a giveaway though.  The Haven Centre is in Crawley Down, which is a village close to Crawley. False alarm then. Nobody is calling Crawley a village after all and we can get on with the argument about whether the Maidenbower estate is a village.
Had a similar problem when I lived in County Durham. People were always confusing the village I lived in, New Brancepeth, with Brancepeth itself. Mine was an old fashioned pit village with a Working Men’s Club, council estates and a few unmade roads. Brancepeth itself had a castle…..