Brighton University protesters set to march over future of Hastings campus

Students' union insists campus will close within 2 years, while university says it will 'evolve'

The Priory Square building, pictured, is one of three University of Brighton sites in the town of Hastings (University of Brighton/Facebook)

Hundreds of protesters are set to march through Brighton on Wednesday over the future of the University of Brighton’s campus in Hastings town centre.

The demonstration’s organisers have urged as many students and staff as possible to “take the battle of Hastings” to management in order to “protect jobs, education, and access to opportunity.”

The protesters have claimed management is set to close the campus - a decision they says has been made against university governance procedures and with “absolutely no consultation” with staff, students, or the local community - describing the move as “an attack against all of us.”

Announcing the plans for the march, the event’s page reads: “Hastings has united against senior management and their off-hand decision to destroy education and opportunity.

“An injury to one is truly an injury to all. Ensuring that this decision is turned around means more than just a campus.”

In March, the university announced it had carried out an internal review which found its operations in Hastings was “not sustainable in the longer term.”

The university cited a predicted sharp fall in the number of 16 to 17-year-olds in the town and surrounding areas which resulted in increased competition for students both nationally and internationally.

However, insisting the university would continue to support the delivery of “a more focused higher education” offering in the town, targeting the local community, vice-chancellor, Professor Debra Humphris, said the campus would evolve.

She said at the time: “I am pleased the university will continue to play an important role in the continuing social and economic regeneration of Hastings.”

According to BBC News, though, a statement from the students’ union insisted the vice-chancellor’s statement was “vague and misleading,” insisting the campus will close within two years.

On Tuesday, though, the university said all of the decision-making around the review followed its governance processes and that there was no predetermined outcome.

In a statement to the Independent, a university spokesperson said: “While our internal review confirmed that our Hastings campus is not sustainable either academically or financially, we are not - as the protesters are suggesting - simply closing our campus and walking away.

“Our decision to evolve the current campus into a new University Centre was taken precisely because it offers the best way to continue to provide the people of Hastings with access to educational opportunities that can help them to transform their lives and continue to support the town.

“All current students, including those applying for 2016 entry, will complete their courses at our Hastings campus over the next three to four years.

“We have already started discussions with our partners at Sussex Coast College Hastings and Hastings Borough Council on the development of the new University Centre.”

The spokesperson said it is hoped the first University Centre courses will begin in September 2017.

The students’ union said: “We remain committed to uniting with staff in resisting job losses, course closures, and funding cuts to Hastings and across the university. Hastings must remain open, with more effective support for the future.”