UNIVERSITY of South Wales bosses will hold meetings with staff tomorrow as speculation mounts over the future of the campus at Caerleon.

Rumours have circulated for a number of months that the site - which hosts several thousands of students, including many from overseas - is earmarked for closure.

The university's review of its estate has further fuelled those rumours, and campaigners wishing to see it remain open are now claiming a closure decision has been made.

Liberal Democrats last night issued a statement claiming the university is expected to tell staff today that the Caerleon campus' days are numbered. It said: "The university is expected to tell staff that they are planning to phase out the Caerleon site."

Paul Halliday, the party's parliamentary candidate for Newport East, who has mounted a campaign to keep the Caerleon site open, said: “The university is one of the city’s largest employers, yet none of the city’s leaders is raising any objection to this closure.

“Council leaders, MPs and AMs are all standing by and watching while jobs are squeezed out of Newport and local students are forced to travel to Pontypridd to complete their courses."

A university spokesman said: "It is public knowledge that the University of South Wales’ Board of Governors has been reviewing its estate, including exploring possibilities for strategic investment in growth areas.

"The University’s first responsibility is to fully explain the Board’s decision to its staff and it will be doing so in scheduled meetings on Friday September 12.

"The University will not be making any comment on speculation in the media before this time."

Fears about the future of the Caerleon campus - which includes the 100-year-old former Monmouthshire Training College - first surfaced in June, when the Argus reported that recruitment to its English and history courses would be suspended this year due to low take-up.

In response to Mr Halliday's claim at the time that the courses were being axed, the University of South Wales revealed that the suspension decision was based on "applicant numbers" and the desire to provide "a high quality student experience."

It did not comment on claims that education and sports courses were the next in line for suspension.

At the time, a spokesman said: "For courses to provide the best experience for students, cohorts need to be more substantial than the numbers that have applied for 2014 entry (to English and history).

"The decision to suspend is therefore part of normal university business which regularly sees it open new courses and close others to reflect changing patterns of student demand.

"Students already studying on these courses at Caerleon will be able to continue their studies at their existing campus."

Mr Halliday claimed the campus was being "closed by stealth." The university' insisted its "commitment to a sustainable university in Newport is absolutely unchanged" but admitted its estate was being assessed.