A RIVAL multi-million pound super-university plan was unveiled today but it failed to win the backing of council and business leaders.

Former rugby star Scott Gibbs revealed plans for a campus which would link lecture theatres with businesses.

It is in direct competition with another multi-million pound project for the University of Wales, Newport on a four-acre site in the city centre near the Riverfront theatre.

The developers, Liberty Properties, said it wants to build a cutting-edge campus and business park on 420 acres of land at Caerleon Park, Newport.

It said the new University Park Newport plan could bring thousands of jobs to Gwent for Wales' first fully integrated research- based business park and university.

Scott Gibbs, Liberty Properties development manager, said: "University Park Newport is an opportunity for not only Newport but Wales to take the ultimate step towards private and academic collaboration leading to economic regeneration."

Mr Gibbs said the site, north west of Caerleon, also has room for a new hospital, sports stadium and residential village.

Liberty Properties has a controlling stake in the land, which is rented out for farming use. It is proposing to give 120 acres to the university and to put £33.5m towards the cost of building the campus and £10m towards infrastructure, including a new relief road connecting the site with the A4042 and M4.

The plans are now before the board of governors of University of Wales, Newport who also have the option of building new facilities on a four-acre site in the city centre - which was a key part of the Newport Unlimited masterplan to regenerate Newport.

Graham Moore, chief executive of Newport Unlimited, said: "We don't support these plans.

"We think it's in the wrong place. It won't add value to the regeneration of the city. And using that amount of land will bring a significant cost to the environment."

Dr Peter Noyes, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Wales, Newport, said: "We are keen to examine both proposals as they both offer different but significant future advantages for the university, its students and Newport."

Liberty's proposals for a "super-university" have received the thumbs down from Newport managing director Chris Freeguard who said the new plans included a significant amount of housing on a greenfield site.

He said: "The proposals for the housing are in direct contravention with the draft Unitary Development Plan and the local authority will resist these."

He added that they had been aware of the proposals for some time and had discussed the problems with Liberty.