Broadcast: News items

Bramber House is being restored to full use following the end of an occupation of the Conference Centre on the third floor.

The University had tolerated the occupation, which started as a protest in relation to the University's plans to work with external partners for catering and facilities management, since it began on 7 February.

However, on 25 March - as part of a wider demonstration on campus - the occupiers broke down doors in the Conference Centre, gaining access to the whole of the third floor and to other areas of Bramber House (including seminar rooms that would normally be used for teaching and learning).

As a result, the University decided that, in the interests of staff, student and visitor safety, no services would be provided from the building for the time being. Teaching scheduled for Bramber House was either relocated or rescheduled.

The University then obtained a High Court possession order and the 25 remaining occupiers were removed from Bramber House on Tuesday (2 April).

The Registrar & Secretary, John Duffy, said: “We are now returning the building to its normal use for our campus community - for teaching, catering and food shopping at the Co-op store - and as a place of work for more than 100 staff. We are assessing the damage that has been caused to the building.”

• On the ground floor, Eat Central, the Co-operative store and the HSBC bank are all open as normal.
• Seminar rooms on the second floor are being cleaned and checked so that they are ready for use when teaching resumes on Thursday (4 April).
• Dine Central – the restaurant on the first floor – will re-open next Monday (8 April) as planned.
• The Conference Centre on the third floor, i.e. the area that was occupied, will be out of action for a number of weeks. Before it can re-open, staff need to remove bedding, clothing, books and food; clean carpets and walls; check and clean kitchen equipment; repair broken doors, fire exits and CCTV cameras; replace ceiling tiles; replace door locks that had been glued; check fire alarms and fire extinguishers; check cabling and IT systems; reposition furniture; and so on.
• Staff in the Housing Office, the Conference Office, Trading Services and the Development and Alumni Relations Office – all of which are based in Bramber House – have been able to return to their offices.