UWTSD faces backlash over moving courses from Lampeter campus

A Welsh university has faced a backlash after it announced that it will move courses from a historic campus because of concerns over costs and efficiency.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David said humanities courses that are currently based at its Lampeter campus will be moved to its Carmarthen campus, 25 miles away, from September 2025.

The campus, which is home to 197 full-time students and 112 core staff across 30 courses, has been a university site since 1822, with campaigners claiming the decision to wind down teaching at the site “undermines” the university’s mission and commitment to its cultural heritage.

UWTSD was formed in 2010 by the merger of the Lampeter campus, then known as the University of Wales, Lampeter, with Carmarthen’s Trinity University College.

A review was launched into UWTSD’s finances after its 2023-24 accounts, which reported a £11 million deficit, noted “a significant amount of money was being spent on an underutilised estate which the university cannot afford to cross-subsidise”.

UWTSD is the latest university to announce a relocation from prestigious sites because of ongoing financial pressures, following a decision by the University of York to move history courses out of the Grade I-listed King’s Manor, and the University of Sunderland’s decision to close the National Glass Centre.

“The Lampeter campus costs about £2.7 million per year to run and the backlog maintenance and compliance costs for the campus are estimated at £33.5 million, which is subject to inflation. This is not a sustainable situation, and the university must take action,” a UWTSD spokesperson said.

But a petition has been launched, claiming that the move “would sever nearly 200 years of Lampeter’s role as a centre of higher education” and “devastate the local community”. 

The petition, which has more than 3,800 signatures, urges the university to rethink the move and instead “work with all stakeholders to create a viable, sustainable plan for the campus”. 

“This must include a serious investment in new courses, marketing, and student recruitment efforts to ensure Lampeter’s relevance and appeal for future generations,” it added. 

One signatory wrote: “Lampeter’s campus is historically important, and the merger with Trinity should now be dissolved so it can be rebuilt as a proper university again. Shocking behaviour from shocking leadership must not be allowed to destroy Lampeter now.”

A university spokesperson insisted that it was not currently closing the campus, and was “committed” to retaining the estate and “finding alternative ways of delivering education-related activities that would give this campus a new lease of life and a more secure future”.

They added that the university was “aware of the petition”, adding: “We are early in the process, and we are discussing the best way forward with students, staff and representatives of other key stakeholders.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com