The announcement, made on Thursday (November 20), means Crawley has been short-listed by a Government funding body as a possible site for a new university.

Labour MP for Crawley Laura Moffatt welcomed the announcement that Crawley's expression of interest to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for Labour's 'New University Challenge' initiative has been accepted.

Mrs Moffatt said: "A new university campus would bring a wealth of opportunities to people in Crawley. It would create jobs, help local businesses, and help people get the top level training they want without them having to move away from home to get it."

The HEFCE, which is responsible for deciding which proposals get put forward for funding, had already received 27 expressions of interest when Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham MP, announced the short-list.

Mrs Moffatt added: "Today is just the first step which is why I'm committed to working with the council, the college, and local businesses to make our bid win for the people of Crawley."

A University of Brighton spokesperson said: "A joint bid is being prepared to bring a University Centre to Crawley to serve the people and businesses in the area. Led by the University of Brighton, partners include Crawley Borough Council, Central Sussex and East Surrey Colleges, the universities of Sussex, Surrey and Chichester and the business community through Cadia, the Gatwick Diamond Business Association and SEEDA.

"A range of work is fully under way to analyse the current and future demand for higher education in the area. Most importantly we are working closely with a broad range of local employers to identify their needs for higher education so that we can tailor a range of courses accordingly."