University of Sussex expansion plans approved

Planning Inspectorate upholds University of Sussex, Sussex Masterplan which will see a £500 million investment in the local economy.

Hundreds of permanent jobs and increased student housing provision on the University of Sussex campus will be created as part of the scheme.

The university is due to increase its numbers by 6000 to 18000 students over the next few years and want the campus at Falmer to be expanded to accommodate the extra students, with around 4000 new flats being built.

The Sussex Masterplan produced by the University of Sussex was originally rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council. Council officers withdrew their objections when the plans were referred to the Planning Inspectorate.

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven is pleased the plans have now been given the go ahead.

He said: “It is fantastic news that the Masterplan has been approved and that this expansion can now go ahead.

“Sussex had already been given approval to take 6000 new students. The university plays a very important role in our local economy, both directly and indirectly, and it is right that it be able to expand to enable it to keep up with other leading universities and maintain its reputation as a centre of research excellence.

“I am always aware that any new development needs to be appropriate and so I have always argued that the accommodation needed to support these extra students should be built on the campus, to reduce pressure on family homes in the city, particularly in areas such as Moulsecoomb and Bevendean.”