Arts Piazza café refurbishment drives positive social impact
Arts Piazza café reopened its doors earlier in the month after a mini refurbishment inspired by new coffee partner Social Impact Coffee. The roastery’s model ensures 65% of revenue from the coffee beans we purchase goes directly to support local causes. Staff and students celebrated the relaunch with free donuts and discounted coffee.
Sussex Uni Food fuels student exam journey with 1,000 free breakfasts
One thousand students visited Eat Central earlier this month to grab a free breakfast bowl, courtesy of Sussex Uni Food, who continue to support students around the clock. The nutritious bowls ‘sold out' within seven days – that’s an average of 142 per day!
Executive Chef, Mike King, said: “We are delighted to have provided 1,000 free breakfasts to students taking their exams. It’s one less thing for them to worry about during this stressful and important time. By offering a healthy, hassle-free meal to start their day, we hope to have supported them in performing their best. This initiative has brought great pride to our team.” Travel survey aims to encourage sustainable travel
As part of the West Slope planning requirements, the University is obliged to submit a new ‘Campus Travel Plan’, central to which will be what the University is doing to encourage sustainable travel to and from campus. To help paint a picture of the current travel habits of our staff and students, we ran a University-wide Travel Survey (with transport consultancy SYSTRA). Over 1,500 staff and students took the survey, sharing information about travel habits and their views on sustainable transport initiatives. The data will now be used in the new Travel Plan, which will be submitted to Brighton & Hove City Council for approval ahead of our first West Slope buildings opening next year.
Read more on the Staff Hub. Could you travel to campus differently?
If you drive to campus, consider switching up your commute to help reduce the environmental impact of driving. Explore sustainable travel options, discover perks and discounts, and find out more about greener ways to travel.
Monika Farkas, Sustainable Travel Advisor, says: “I want to stress the importance of rethinking how we travel to campus. I'm here to help you with your travel planning and can provide you with information on transport options, discounts, the Cycle to Work buddy up group and more. Together, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint and support the University’s sustainability goals.” Health and Wellbeing Centre – new contract signed
Balfour Beatty has been contracted to fit out our new Health and Wellbeing Centre, which will be the first building to open on the West Slope development. Construction is underway and the internal fit-out building is now being planned, which includes everything from building internal walls to installing utilities, fixtures and fittings. Paperless Parking update: changes to Visitor parking charge times
Responding to user feedback, and as part of ongoing efforts to improve our parking services, we have adjusted the times the Visitor day rate charging starts and overnight rate ends. Visitor parking is now available for up to nine hours (previously eight hours) during core daytime hours 8am to 5pm for a £7 fee. A flat fee of £4.50 will be charged for Visitor parking between 5pm and 8am.
This means if you arrive and pay for Visitor parking just before 9am, you will no longer pay the pre-working hours overnight charge. Building Management System (BMS) upgrades continue across campus
Work to upgrade the BMS in 22 campus buildings is underway, bringing enhanced control over heating, lighting, and electrical systems, improving efficiency and reducing energy use.
The hardware upgrades have included replacing essential components such as wiring and sensors to monitor conditions including temperature and light levels. Over the next month the software that processes data from the sensors, identifies trends and anomalies, and makes informed decisions will be installed, paving the way for decisions based on better information to be made. Boundary Field temporary car park application submitted
Planning permission is being sought for a new temporary car park in Boundary Field (Russell’s Clump). The car park will accommodate construction worker commuter vehicles whilst West Slope is under construction, helping to ease campus and local congestion. The planning submission details plans for the 209-space car park, including a commitment to enhance the field’s condition and biodiversity when the car park closes.
University staff, students, and the local community were invited to view the plans and provide feedback in advance of the submission.
Read more about why we need additional car park space on the Staff Hub. | 
