The university had planned to close the Seale Hayne campus

A Devon university has decided to save an agricultural college whose future was in doubt.

The University of Plymouth has decided not to move students from its Seale Hayne campus, near Newton Abbot in south Devon, to its central Plymouth site.

The original decision to move students, announced in December 2002, was met with strong opposition by students and the local farming community.

But the plans have been scrapped.

University bosses have now proposed the campus could become a rural centre of excellence.

Seale Hayne, which is set in the south Devon countryside at Bickington, has been a centre for agricultural studies since the 1920s.

These plans put forward do signal a real intent by the university to keep Seale Hayne Jim Hosking

The university had said that because most science courses were based in Plymouth, it made sense to centralise facilities and expertise and allow courses to be mixed with other disciplines.

But now it plans to turn the college into a rural centre of excellence which would include so-called "incubator units" to help start new businesses.

University Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Evans said of the new scheme: "We think this proposal is true to the spirit that was shown when Seale-Hayne was established.

"The economy has changed and the training needs have changed, but we want to establish a centre that builds on the strengths of Seale-Hayne and ensure that it provides leadership and vision for the future of the rural economy."

Economy boost

Former Seale-Hayne governor Jim Hosking welcomes what he says is an attempt to diversify the college.

He said: "These plans put forward do signal a real intent by the university to keep Seale Hayne and build it up to make it vibrant and viable in this region."

Teignbridge District Council member Stuart Barker said the move was a boost for the local economy.

"Hopefully, it will include some additional buildings which will be the incubator units which the university is talking about.

"These will be new business and they will enable the students who are taught there and get their degrees there to then find employment opportunities in the area, which will add long-term benefits to the local economy which are currently not there."