Developing the West Slope
Learn about how we are growing our campus.
Campus development
We’re investing £200 million in making the University of Sussex better. Through our campus development, we can maintain our position as one of the world’s leading academic institutions and attract and work with the best and brightest minds.
Latest news
Better Campus: West Slope News
Posted on behalf of: Campus Development
Last updated: Thursday, 4 August 2022
Young campus resident, Yusuf Yusupov, opens our new playground and basketball court with University of Sussex women's basketball team player Amani Al Zawawi
University of Sussex women's basketball team playing on our new basketball court
We are investing in making our campus better and there is lots of work underway to prepare our campus for our exciting new development, West Slope. Here is an update about our works and how they might affect you.
New Playground and Basketball Court
We celebrated the opening of our brand new playground and basketball court on Wednesday 4 August, which coincided with National Playday. Read more about our celebration here.
Refectory Road
Works along Refectory Road are ongoing. We expect the road to remain closed until the end of August, and will keep you up-to-date in our weekly Transport Update as to when the road will reopen. Please ensure you continue to follow road diversions around campus.
Lewes Court area
Work has started to excavate the grassy area at the top of the grasscrete road near Lewes Court block 2 and a new path is being built alongside Lewes Court blocks 1 and 2. Once the new path is ready, excavation work will continue down the grasscrete road to ensure our utilities can support the new development and our existing buildings. Work is also nearing completion on new bin stores along Northfield Lane.
Norwich House area
Excavation work has started to the rear to Norwich House. This work will progress down Norwich House Road over the coming months. We are also building a new path between Norwich House and Jubilee car park to create new bin storage for residents.
Swanborough Laundrette
We are building a new student laundrette between Swanborough blocks 2 and 3, which will replace the old Park Village laundrette. Work is progressing well and the new Laundrette is due to be open in October.
Car Parks
There is reduced Car Park capacity across campus – both sections of Car Park 8 are now closed and Car Park 9 has fewer spaces available. Please use alternative car parks such as Jubilee Car Park 7 or check our car park pages for more information.
We are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum, but you may notice noise and dust as the works progress - we are sorry for any disruption caused. Please also note that dates of work are subject to change as we work to minimise disruption to employees and students. If you have any queries about the West Slope development, please email bettercampus@sussex.ac.uk. You can also keep up-to-date with news on our new 'Creating a Better Campus' Yammer group.
Investing in the student experience
Read about our exciting new Student Centre.
Enhancing our landscape and environment
Explore our grand green spaces.
Preserving our architecture and heritage
Delve into our decades of history.
A better campus
Our experiences of study, work and life over the past couple of years have highlighted even more keenly the need to provide space that works for all our people – students and staff alike.
We’re investing in making our stunning 60-year-old campus better – with everything from big builds to small changes to our existing space and facilities. These will give us areas that work, providing modern spaces and keeping our historic campus beautiful for another 60 years.
Over the past five years, we have built 2,117 new bedrooms on campus, creating a new student village – East Slope – with a mixture of townhouses and flats as well as study spaces and social hubs. We have also opened the doors of our brand new Student Centre – a multipurpose learning and events space, which as well as being a new hub for student services, will offer new retail and leisure amenities.
Our next step is the most ambitious programme we have undertaken in recent years. The West Slope development will greatly enhance the student and academic experience, giving the University the infrastructure it needs to continue to be an internationally-recognised centre for excellence, as well as being a covetable place to live, work and forge connections.
Staying informed
Whether you work for Sussex or feel passionate about our campus, you can stay up-to-date with webinars and online events.