UNIVERSITY bosses are being urged to reveal proposals for the future of a Welsh campus, so they can have sufficient time to scrutinise the plans properly.

Graduates issued the plea after it emerged that 26 suggestions have already been made on what should happen to the Lampeter campus after all university teaching is controversially axed this summer.

University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD), which is transferring courses to its Carmarthen campus, has asked people to come up with alternative uses for the campus.

The decision to move courses to Carmarthen was due to low student numbers and the campus costing £2.7m a year to run.

The Lampeter Society, an alumni group which fiercely opposed the loss of university education after 200 years in the town, has submitted one of the proposals but says it would also like sufficient time for it and other stakeholders to assess the other schemes.

Society chair Andrew Leach says the number of submissions attests to ‘an impressive level of engagement from a wide variety of stakeholders who genuinely have the future of Lampeter at heart.’

However, he claims the university is imposing an ‘unwarranted’ level of secrecy over details of the 26 proposals, making it difficult for the society and other stakeholders to scrutinise them.

He says stakeholders will not have any sight of proposals until they attend a meeting following a 19 May deadline for submissions.

“Such an approach is disrespectful both to the proposers, who have gone to considerable effort to submit draft plans, and to non UWTSD members of the working group who need sufficient time to review and consider proposals and consult with those they represent,” he said.

“If this process is to be anything other than a token gesture to placate elected representatives and/or a sop to the local community, then wider stakeholders must be allowed sufficient time to interrogate the proposals and comment reflectively on them.

“We request that the submitted proposals be made available immediately (and thereafter as they come in) on a secure platform, where representatives of the stakeholder group can review and comment on them in advance of the meeting in May.

“Such platforms can be password protected and offer the option to disable download and print and copy.

“Therefore, if UWTSD insist on retaining a high level of confidentiality and control over the process, this can be ensured."

UWTSD has been asked for a response.

When launching the consultation, the university said: 'We recognise the significance of this site and its potential to continue serving the community in meaningful ways'.

The online consultation adds: “With this in mind, as part of the ongoing public consultation and options appraisal, we invite the submission of proposals for the future use of the campus.

“We welcome creative and innovative proposals but encourage submissions that take into account financial sustainability and long-term viability. By providing a suitable level of detail, we can ensure that discussions remain constructive and lead to viable and sustainable opportunities for the campus and the wider community.”