Chichester University campus expansion plan for Bognor Regis given the nod

The University of Chichester is about to make its request for 8m of funding and the go-ahead for more courses to enable the expansion to take place.

It can submit the application with the support of Arun District Council. The council's Bognor Regis sub-committee agreed on Monday to tell the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) that the university's proposals are an essential part of the regeneration of Bognor.

Richard McMann, Arun's Bognor task force co-ordinator, told councillors it was vital for Bognor's regrowth that it had a thriving university campus next to its town centre.

"I genuinely believe the university programme is as important as any of the physical developments in the town that we have discussed over the last two years," he stated.

Council leader Cllr Gill Brown said: "These are really exciting proposals and I am supportive of everything within them."

It was important to provide higher education in the town and then to retain the graduates to enable the skill and wage levels to rise to create greater prosperity, she stated.

Cllr Norman Dingemans, the sub-committee's chairman, said: "Everyone benefits from these plans '“ the university and the town."

The university is set to make its application to Hefce soon. A decision will be announced in April.

The bid is part of a 35m growth of its campus off Upper Bognor Road. Most of that can be funded from the university's resources but it needs the crucial agreement of Hefce to be able to start new courses.

If the decision is positive, the university will be well on the way to doubling its student numbers in Bognor from 1,000 to just over 2,000 to pump an additional estimated 10m into the town's economy each year. Staff numbers will also increase to boost the local economy even more.

The expansion '“ which will change the campus's focus away from teacher training to sports and business enterprise '“ will be gradual.

A couple of new creative degree courses got underway last September. Others are set to follow this autumn. One of them, for event management, is already vastly over-subscribed to show the university's popularity.

Applications have been received from 95 hopefuls against an expected initial intake of 15-30.

Once Hefce agrees, further new courses will be added during the next five years. In 2014, UC will place its highly regarded sports courses in Bognor in the later stages of the proposed transformation.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP