NEWPORT councillors will urge university chiefs to keep courses in the city and surrounding areas, including the campus in Caerleon, at a meeting on Tuesday.

Two members have submitted a Notice of Motion calling on the University of South Wales (USW) managers and governors to ensure Newport courses are not “syphoned away” to other parts of South Wales, “taking with them both jobs and educational opportunities”.

Both Caerleon and the city centre campus were brought under the USW banner when Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport, merged in April 2013.

The motion, proposed by Lib Dem councillor Ed Townsend and seconded by Independent councillor Kevin Whitehead, comes after the Argus revealed the Caerleon campus needs around £20 million investment to bring ageing accommodation blocks and other buildings up to scratch.

Its future is being considered by USW executives, along with four other campuses across South Wales.

Proposals are due in September for consultation.

Campaigners, who set up a petition entitled Save Caerleon Campus, are also asking Wales’ heritage body Cadw to look again at listing the 100-year-old former Monmouthshire Training College building on the site.

The building was last surveyed by Cadw in 2000 but was rejected for listed status because of its modern additions.

Paul Halliday, who helped to spearhead the petition which has gathered more than 1,000 signatures, said: “We need to be pursuing this. We were looking at the site of one of the oldest universities in Wales and that shouldn’t be ignored.

“This is not just about some romantic ideal of the history of the Caerleon campus, it’s important to the history of Newport in terms of the teaching college. There’s a need for it to be listed purely for the historic significance.”

The number of campaign volunteers has swelled to around 50, said Mr Halliday.

“It’s about access to education and if we can get this building listed it might help keep that education in this area,” he said.

The group is now trying to establish when the land at Caerleon was first given over for educational purposes.

Around 7,000 students are taking full and part-time courses at the Newport and Caerleon campuses.

A spokeswoman for USW said all options are being looked at during the review.

It is not yet clear how jobs will be affected although Caerleon courses, if moved, are expected to stay within the Newport area.

The Argus recently reported how English and history courses will finish at Caerleon this year as not enough people have signed up, although some courses have moved to Caerleon and the university has doubled its marketing budget to promote the campus.

A spokesman for the university said the board has set out guiding principles including that the university’s inherited and future estate should serve the academic needs of its students, not vice versa, as well as a commitment to serve “the whole region”.