RESIDENTS have aired their fury with the decision to sell a former university campus in Caerleon to a property developer.

The University of South Wales (USW) closed the campus in 2016 and sold it this week for £6.2m to Redrow plc.

The housing developer has since announced its intention to submit plans to construct roughly 220 homes on the site.

And people from all walks of life have now hit out at the latest development.

South Wales Argus:

(The former Caerleon campus.)

Julie Morgan, who is a nurse and lives in the area, is concerned that any additional houses could lead to "bad" congestion.

"Caerleon and Ponthir are already bad at some times of the day," she said.

"Congestion would be even worse with more vehicles coming to the area.

"Caerleon does not need more properties."

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Janet Williams, who lives in Ponthir, added similar concerns, saying: "My husband gets stuck in traffic every morning when he is going to work.

"I am furious that they are hoping for more houses. If there is bad traffic in Caerleon it always spills over into Ponthir."

The 60-year-old added: "I also worry about air quality because if there are more houses there will be more cars--surely this will affect the environment?"

But Tim Webb, who lives near Usk Road, Caerleon, is "pleased" that the site has been put to some use.

"We were all worried that vandals were going to get into the campus," he said.

"Thank goodness it has been put to some use.

"It is not for definite that houses will go there. The university was hoping to build some on the land but they were turned down."

A spokeswoman from Redrow addressed residents' concerns, saying: "Building responsibly is of paramount importance to us and the site at Caerleon will be no exception.

"As always, we'll be working closely with local partners to ensure that our plans meet all the regulatory requirements, as well as our own high standards."

The USW had previously revealed unsuccessful plans for roughly 263 homes to replace the old university’s student halls and teaching blocks. The Grade II listed main campus building, Felthorpe House, TJ Webly and Ty Hywel, would have been retained but converted for an extra 47 apartments.

At the time, residents voiced their concerns that any significant development on the site could exacerbate existing congestion and air quality issues in the area.