Preparations under way to develop new student housing on campus
Preparatory work is under way to create more student accommodation on the University of Sussex campus. The new buildings will replace the existing East Slope housing, increasing the number of student bedrooms by 1,500.
Hoardings have been erected around Mantell, which will be demolished over a period of two months from about mid November
Phased construction will begin in early 2017 on this part of campus to create 2,100 new bedrooms as well as a new building for the Students’ Union and social facilities
The most visible sign so far is contractors’ activity around the Mantell building, which will be demolished to make way for the first phase of the East Slope development; the current residences date back to the early 1970s and are now reaching the end of their life.
Phased construction will then begin in early 2017 on this part of campus to create 2,100 new bedrooms as well as a new building for the Students’ Union and social facilities.
Hoardings have just been erected around Mantell, which will be demolished over a period of two months from about mid November; long-arm diggers will pull it down piece by piece. Before that, though, the interior of the building will be stripped out.
Also this autumn, some piling works are being carried out on the East Slope to check the composition of the chalk; trenches will be dug to enable the relocation of telephone cables and gas mains; and (as part of the standard planning requirements) ground investigations will check for any sites of potential archaeological significance.
The development will have implications for drivers who come on to campus.
After the end of the autumn term, the corner of the road at the top of Boiler House Hill will be remodelled to make it safer for traffic – including contractors’ lorries but also bendy buses – to turn left down the hill or right along Knights Gate Road.
Most spaces in the Mantell car park (P6) will remain available until December; from January 2017 this car park will no longer be in use, as it is located on the site of the first phase of the East Slope development.
The Registrar and Secretary, John Duffy, says: “We will be working closely with our partners on this project, Balfour Beatty, to ensure that we minimise any on-site disruption to our University community during the phased construction process.
“We will be providing updates as the development progresses and involving our students and staff at all stages of the build.
“This is an exciting development for the University as we look to continuously improve our buildings and facilities on campus.”
The first phase of additional accommodation will be ready around September/October 2018, with all work completed by 2020.
Brighton & Hove City Council approved the University’s plans for East Slope in summer 2016.
The new bedrooms will be the first stage of a £500 million programme of investment to modernise and improve the University’s campus.