Fears of college closures rebuffed

Bruce Sinclair, local democracy reporter

Fears a new education facility could lead to the closure of two college campuses have been denied.

Late last week, Ceredigion County Council and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) shared their proposal to maintain educational provision on UWTSD’s Lampeter campus.

Following a series of discussions between the council and the university, plans are being developed to deliver post-16 vocational education on the campus, with emphasis on skills-based courses such as agriculture, horticulture, gastronomy and construction.

In a related development planned to support agricultural and horticultural courses, the council has now secured the purchase of a farm adjacent to the campus.

Farm purchase

The farm purchase, next to the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) campus in Lampeter, follows the announcement earlier this year of the end of undergraduate teaching at what is Wales’s oldest campus, with courses transferred to Carmarthen.

At the June and July meetings of Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet, members backed approval the purchase of what was described as a “strategic asset,” funded through a loan from the Welsh Government.

The actual details were kept from the public, the details only available for members, with strict warnings issued about disclosing information; the actual decision made after the press and public were excluded from the meeting.

Last Friday, it was announced that a loan was provided by the Welsh government to enable the authority to buy the 150-acre farm, Llettytwppa, which was listed at a market value of some £1.8m.

Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader of Ceredigion County Council had said: “We are pleased to now be in a position to share these exciting plans. We know how important the Lampeter campus is to the town and the wider community. Our ambition is to help to secure a sustainable future for the campus and to ensure that it continues to make a significant contribution to the regional economy.”

Over the next three years, a range of vocational courses and skills-based programmes are planned to be made available at the Lampeter campus. The council will also look to provide additional community facilities on the site.

A-level courses will not be provided on the campus.

A series of public meetings will be held in the coming months to discuss the plans.

Following that announcement, fears had been raised that UWTSD, also running the Coleg Ceredigion sites, plans to close both Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

‘Incorrect’

Coleg Sir Gar Coleg Ceredigion, responding in a statement, said: “A recent news article regarding the future of Coleg Ceredigion in Aberystwyth and Cardigan has said that both campuses are closing. Coleg Ceredigion wants to assure you that the recent article published in the local press is incorrect.

“There are no plans to close any of our campuses in Ceredigion, and remove post-16 education from Aberystwyth and Cardigan.”