UPDATE 4.10pm

A petition has been launched to save Caerleon campus by Lib Dem activist Paul Halliday.

UPDATE 3.56pm

Paul Flynn MP for Newport West said: “It is a worrying situation which has been made worse by ill informed speculation on closures which has discouraged students from applying.

“The problem is the diminishing number of students. These are fine old buildings; I know strenuous effort is being made to find alternative use for them.

“The students are a vital part of Newport life. We want to see the maximum number of them having higher education in Newport.”

UPDATE 3.45pm

Valerie Blong, is the manager at The Ship Inn on New Road in Caerleon, and has been living there for 24 years.

She said: “It wouldn’t affect us really because we are not by any way, shape or form a ‘student pub’. Students come down once in a while and we are part of their pub golf route but we are not inundated.

“They rarely come over this side of the bridge. But it will be a big shame for the village if it closes and I can’t understand it because it’s been there for donkeys’ years and there always seems to be a lot of students coming down.”

UPDATE 2.25pm

Graham Morgan, director of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, commented: “The University of South Wales holds a key position in linking the Public Sector, Private Sector and Academia across a key part of Wales.

With all significant decisions there will be certain areas that will need to be developed and considered further but we are pleased that the university are placing the ongoing needs of the business community and students at the heart of the decisions that they are currently taking.”

UNIVERSITY bosses are to consult on closing Caerleon campus, putting 145 jobs at risk, staff were told today.

Courses at Caerleon Campus will be suspended from next year affecting 7,000 students.

The University of South Wales' (USW) board of governors met on Monday and unanimously agreed to close the Caerleon Campus following a consultation of the university's whole estate.

They say the decision to end courses at the campus which includes the iconic 100-year-old former Monmouthshire Training College is due to the steady decline of students.

The USW estimated an investment of £20 million would be needed to bring the campus up to the standards of modern campuses. They have not yet decided what will become of the site but have suggested it could be used by the community, for further education or to be sold.

A maximum of 145 campus-specific jobs will be affected by the closure of the campus but USW said that it will take two to three years for the building to be closed.

A USW spokesman said: "The first-year students will transfer within the first year and similarly the second-year students. Third-year and masters students will finish their courses at Caerleon Campus.

"We have to listen to the student market, irrespective of the history, as beautiful as Caerleon is, the numbers have dropped steadily. Students want a city centre location for shops and things to do.

"Caerleon was below capacity which pre-dates USW."

USW say there has been a 25 per cent decline in students from 2009 to 2013 which pre-dates the merging of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport which created USW in 2013.

Some Caerleon courses will be moving to the Treforest Campus in Pontypridd and the photography course will be moving to the Atrium in Cardiff. All creative courses such as the film school will be moving from the city campus to the Atrium as well.

A USW spokesman said: "This (Cardiff) is where creative students want to be. The BBC have moved to the centre and there is a media hub in the bay."

The university has revealed that the Newport City Campus will become a centre for business and professional studies offering new courses including hospitality and cyber security. Courses such as accounting, finance, education early years will be based as the Newport City Campus.

A USW Spokesman said:"This is what local employers are telling us that they would like to see from students. We are working with the city council as part of the economic regeneration of the city."

USW say the new plans will bring an additional 1,500 students into the city campus and are looking to further invest between £8 to £10 million on the site next door to the campus along the waterfront.

The further investment will be 'dependent on the success of the courses' and said they did consider closing the city campus.

Members of staff at Caerleon Campus were told today about the decision in a series of meetings.

Vice President of the Students Union said: "This is not a Student Union decision at all. We will be issuing a full statement at the beginning of next week and we are going to have a protest on November 24 on this campus."

A union rep added: "Questions have to be asked what will happen to this building and the whole campus. I feel for the people of Newport, this was a local university. Lots of people who work here are local and staff are devastated."

A member of catering staff said: "It's difficult for catering because less and less students will be coming in. Some of us may go back to the site in Newport though."