Sussex Uni scraps last remaining student accommodation under £100 a week

Park Village accommodation has been removed as an option for 2021/22 students, The Sussex Tab can reveal.

As a result, this means there is no longer any accommodation below £100 per week. The next accommodation with the lowest price is Norwich House at £118.50 per week.

Sussex rent strike organiser and first year student, Liam, told The Sussex Tab: “Sussex University should rethink its decision to demolish Park Village and park houses. Rents have soared in recent years and have just been massively increased, yet again, for prospective student. Park Village offered has offered affordability and convenience at a cost of £95 per week.

“With many struggling to find part time jobs to supplement their finances, an increase in rent and loss of affordable accommodation couldn’t happen at a worse time. The cost of rent shouldn’t deter anyone from living on campus, however when the few affordable options are being demolished it’s only a matter of time before this will happen.”

Student living and sustainability SU officer, Roseanne Steffen, told The Sussex Tab: “Every year the students Union representatives are consulted in the campus rent setting process, and every year their pleas/demands against rent increases are ignored. SPRC, the university’s Committee that deals with financial concerns of the uni year on year votes against the student representative bringing concerns about rent hikes and students’ inability to cope with them. This performative student consultation has to stop. Our friends at UCU wrote a brilliant blog piece outlining the context of rent increases in Sussex uni owned accommodation over the last decade.

“It is a bleak picture, but something students have and continue to oppose. This comes in light of cuts to first generation scholarship, that further prevents students from low income backgrounds accessing the university. The affordable housing campaign that was started by Park Village residents last year has been meeting again, as part of the Sussex Renters Union. We attended, and have since then emailed management to set up a meeting to discuss the planned student accommodation block, West slope, to replace the current Park Village. This gentrification of campus is a long haul effort and needs students to resist these measures year on year. We need a University accommodation that is cheap, safe and an enjoyable place to live for students.”

A spokesperson from The University of Sussex said: “The current buildings on the West Slope site date back to the 1970s and are very tired. Our overwhelming feedback from students is that they want high-quality, en-suite study bedrooms and our newest rooms are always the most in demand. When we set the rents and we always ensure there is a range of accommodation to meet differing expectations and budgets.”

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