Frequently asked questions
Who can park on campus
Who can park on campus?
All members of staff and students who are not resident on campus can park, providing they display a valid parking permit or pass to park.
Who cannot park on campus
Who is subject to the parking ban?
Any students who live on campus are not allowed to park, with the following exceptions:
- Students with families resident
- Residential advisors
- Registered disabled students (also exempt from parking charges).
How do I appeal against the parking ban?
If you are currently subject to the parking ban but feel that it is absolutely necessary to have a car on campus, you can appeal against the parking ban by writing to or emailing the Transport office with details of your reasons, along with documents required to support your appeal.
Parking for visitors
Where can visitors park?
Unless instructed otherwise, visitors can park in the visitors' car park outside Sussex House or in any available marked parking bay.
Parking passes and permits
What is the difference between a pass-to-park and a parking permit?
A parking permit is for a year, while a pass to park is issued free of charge for 12 months and allows you to pay daily.
How do I apply for a parking pass/permit?
Once you have a log-in code and password for Sussex Direct, you can apply online. Follow the links for your personal page, then Transport. After you have added your vehicle details, a button will appear allowing you to apply.
I am a part-time member of staff: do I need to tell you my hours when applying for a permit so I get the FTE rate?
The Payroll Office will calculate the relevant rate from payroll records. There is no need to notify us of your hours of work.
I am a member of staff on a "zero hours" contract. How will my rate of payment be calculated?
A notional 0.1FTE rate for any staff on "zero hours" contracts takes account of the fact that we cannot make reliable payroll deductions reflecting hours worked and that staff in this position typically work a small number of hours and otherwise have no need to be on campus.
Where do I collect my pass/permit from?
Your pass will be delivered to your internal campus address at the school you attend. Pre-paid permits (for students and for staff on zero-hours contracts) are available for collection about three working days after the request has been received.
When do I renew my pass/permit?
You can renew your pass/permit on Sussex Direct only during the month that it is due to expire. During the month that it is due to expire, log on to Sussex Direct. Choose on the link for the personal page, followed by Transport. A renew button will be visible. Choose the button and follow the instructions. Your pass/permit will be sent to you within three working days.
What happens if I do not renew my pass/permit?
If you do not renew your pass/permit, it will expire at the end of the month and you will not be issued with a new one. You will not be able to bring your car to campus until you apply for a new one.
I do not have easy access to a computer: how do I request to change to a permit?
Staff and students can use any of the computers in the ITS clusters on campus. If you experience a problem with getting access to a computer, contact the Transport office either by phone on (87)6538 or by letter to Transport, Hastings Building, Boiler House Hill, Brighton BN1 9RJ.
I don't have any permit or pass to park, but wish to use the scratch card system. What should I do?
Staff and students bringing cars on to campus are required to have either a pass to park, and pay daily, or have an annual permit.
Parking charges
Why do I have to pay for parking?
Car parking is currently subsidised by the University, with the costs of providing and maintaining car parks exceeding the revenue raised by parking charges.
When do parking charges apply?
Parking charges apply all year, Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm.
Why do you keep putting up parking charges?
Car parking on campus needs to cover its costs and currently does not. This means that income from other sources – e.g. student fees – is currently subsidising car parking. The phased increases in parking charges, announced in 2010 and effective from February 2011, aim to bring an end to the subsidy of car parking by the University. The cost of parking on campus for a day continues to be significantly less than the cost of a return ticket to campus by public transport.
Why are you still not charging for motorbikes? They pollute the environment as well as cars.
Motorbikes do not pollute the environment as much as other motor vehicles and do not take up as much space on the University campus.
Why are low-emission cars not charged less, to encourage their use?
A low-emission car occupies the same parking space as any other car. A fair system of increased charges for high-emission cars would be complicated to administer, but this is under continued review as a future possibility.
What have you done with the income you’ve made from parking charges since February 2011?
Car parking on campus continues to be subsidised by the University, i.e. the income from parking charges does not match the outgoings. Much of the revenue from parking supports the transport operation, e.g. staff salaries; routine maintenance and repairs of parking machines, barriers, car parks, roads, footpaths, cycle paths, bicycle shelters and bus shelters; parking enforcement; etc.
Why is income from car parking being used to support other forms of transport (eg for building and maintaining footpaths, cycle paths, bike racks, bus shelters)?
The use of income from car parking to fund the transport strategy for the campus has been part of our approach since car parking charges were first introduced in 2003. That has been openly stated and published on our transport web pages. The University has no separate income source to fund its transport costs - eg council tax, HEFCE funding etc.
The purpose of using these funds in this way is to encourage sustainable transport to campus and to reduce the demand for car parking. We have a strictly limited number of spaces allowed on the campus by the planning authorities – so we do what we can to help shift demand from car use to other forms of transport. This makes it better for all campus users - so people who still need to drive benefit from others switching to other forms of transport.
However, only a small proportion (some 10-20%) of income from car parking goes on supporting these other forms of travel. By far the largest part of the cost is the construction, maintenance and management of car parking and road network (these are private roads which we build and maintain; they are not funded by the council).
How much does the University charge the football club for parking by its season-ticket holders?
Payment for the use of our car parks is one of the matters that are discussed at each annual review of the University’s agreement with Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club about the use of campus car parks by season-ticket holders.
How do the payments from BHAFC contribute to the cost of maintaining car parks?
Even if payments from the club for their use of car parking are taken into account, there is currently a shortfall against the cost of managing and maintaining the car parking infrastructure for the campus.
(There are of course also additional costs associated with managing and maintaining the relationship with the club and the parking arrangements associated with that.)
For the future, the University will continue to need to make best use of space available on campus for academic purposes – and this will include making judgements about the large amount of space currently taken up by the type of car parks we have at the moment.
Replacement car-parking, most probably multi-level to reduce the footprint of campus space taken up, would need to be built. That long- term vision has been part of the campus masterplan development since it was created in 2004. The income from the club will help support these kind of investments.
Once an external company is managing car parking (from autumn 2013), will the University retain any control over parking charges? Will car parking charges go up yet again?
Our external partner for facilities management would manage car parking as required by the University and the contract with the external partner will specify that increases in car parking charges are limited to inflation.
Scratch cards
What is a scratch card?
Simply scratch off the date, month and year and write in your car registration number; then display the scratch card in the windscreen of your car. Each scratch card pays for parking for one day.
Where do I get a scratch card from?
Staff and students can buy scratch cards at the following cafes:
- Doctor's Orders, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS)
- Chichester café, Chichester 1
- Silverstone café, Silverstone
- Eat Central, Bramber House
- Arts Piazza cafe (Saturdays only).
Drivers can also buy scratch cards by debit and credit card - on weekdays (10am-2pm) - from the security office in York House.
Visitors should contact the relevant department or school.