Viaduct Road, in central Brighton, runs between Preston Circus and Ditchling Road.© Copyright Simon Carey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

University of Sussex staff and students will lead a clean-up of a major road in central Brighton tomorrow (Wednesday 29 June 2016).

The team of volunteers will spend the afternoon clearing rubbish and graffiti in Viaduct Road, working alongside Council workers and local residents.

The street, which runs between Preston Circus and Ditchling Road, is a source of concern for people in the London Road area, according to the University’s Housing Services team.

The team has considerably increased its engagement with local residents over the last few years and, in November 2015, the University established a permanent presence in the city centre by opening an information centre on Lewes Road.

Conversations with people coming into the information centre - and with those at the many Local Action Team meetings the University regularly attends– highlighted Viaduct Road as an area requiring some care and attention.

Dean Spears, Head of Housing at the University, said: “When we heard from the London Road Local Action Team that residents wanted to clean-up Viaduct Road, we took the opportunity to bring them and our staff and students together to help.

“Although there are only a few Sussex student households here, we feel very much part of the local community and care very much about the areas around our campus, and the people who live there.”

The mayor, Councillor Pete West, and John Duffy, Registrar and Secretary at the University of Sussex, will welcome the band of volunteers at midday.

Also in attendance will be:

• Councillor Gill Mitchell - Deputy Leader of the Labour & Co-op group and Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee
• Councillor Lizzie Dean - member of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee

Following a short briefing, the volunteers will head in pairs to Viaduct Road, where they will collect rubbish, pick up litter and clear front gardens. Meanwhile, the Council’s City Clean team will blitz graffiti on the street.

The University plans to make street clean-ups a regular part of its community engagement work, and has pledged to tackle four city streets a year.

Working with local communities, the next few targets have already been identified:

• Beaconsfield Road (within the St Peters and North Laine ward)
• Hollingbury Road (Hollingdean and Stanmer ward)
• Washington Street (Hanover and Elm Grove)