At midday today (Wednesday 13th) hundreds of protestors are set to march through the streets of Brighton over the future of the University of Brighton’s Hastings campus. Those of you who have been following the news will be aware that last month the university announced it had found its operations in Hastings were “not sustainable in the longer term” following an internal review.
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.” 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.” However, organisers of the protest have said since the announcement in March that the plans were “vague and misleading” and that they are sure the campus will close within a few years.
The protest is due to start at midday at The Level.
Holly Martin
feature image: Kyle Huynh
