Hundreds of people protested outside the University of Brighton’s Hastings campus today in a bid to prevent the institution from closing down.

The demonstration was organised by the Hands Off Hastings campaign who marched outside Priory Square chanting and holding banners.

The protestors - who were a mix of locals and students – paraded the streets of the town to voice their opinion on the matter.

Ré Poko, 21, who is part of the Hastings Campus Action Team said: “The thing about the students are they’re a very versatile transient population.

“In our time here we are impacting change and Hastings is impacting us because large numbers of students want to stay here and to take away that relationship in such a way without consulting anyone is disrespectful.

“Will it affect Hastings negatively? Definitely. But Hastings is a strong resilient town and I can imagine it would survive but it shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

The campus is intending to close within two years as the university believes the current model is “not sustainable in the longer term” according to an earlier statement.

The East Sussex university has predicted a “sharp fall” in the number of 16-17-year-olds in the town and surrounding areas.

The protests won’t stop there either as there will be more events throughout the year for people to express their frustration at the decision.

On June 10 there is a public consultation taking place at the University of Brighton Priory Square campus from 2-6pm.

The rally will assemble outside the campus where speakers will be on hand and marchers will make their way to the new Hastings Pier for more presentations. A mystery guest speaker is also set to make an appearance at the event.

Today’s march was organised for this weekend to get the local community involved. On Wednesday, May 4 there was a public meeting at the Azur to attract interest from the local people.

A petition to stop the closure was started over two months ago when the campus announced that it would close down. It has received an overwhelming amount of support securing 7,000 signatures and that is likely to rise after today’s protest.

The Hastings campus opened in 2003 and has received over £12 million in public regeneration from the South East England Development Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council.

This was the second protest since the decision was made with the first demonstration coming in March. This time, however, the local community was encouraged to get involved not just the students.