'It will be built where we want it'

In an uncompromising declaration of intent which is certain to anger those campaigning against development at Coate, Professor Breakwell said: "It will be built where we want it, or not at all."

Prof Breakwell said the new Swindon campus, with 10,000-plus students (2,000 part-time) and 2,500 staff, would be a world leader in pushing back the frontiers of science, especially in life or death medical research.

"And that is the reason why we have to be next to the hospital," said Prof Breakwell.

The vision is for a partnership with the hospital with a cross-pollination of skills putting Swindon at the forefront of international medical research.

Bath University, which already has a strong presence in Swindon at its Oakfield site in Marlowe Avenue, is ranked number five for performance in the UK, close on the heels of Oxford and Cambridge.

Developers Persimmon Homes and Redrow have already offered the university a gift of at least 60 hectares at Coate, in an area bounded by Marlborough Road, the A419 and the M4.

Swindon Council has recently amended its draft Local Plan at the 11th hour to include the proposed campus at Coate, a sensitive environmental area.

If the Government gives the nod of approval, funding is found and all the planning obstacles are negotiated without too many setbacks, Prof Breakwell is confident that the first students will be crossing the threshold of the Coate campus in 2008.

Prof Breakwell rates the university's pharmacy department as "number one in Europe".

She said: "We are demonstrating to the medical world how drugs can be made safer and cheaper.

"Our plans are to develop world-class teaching and research in Swindon, but that will only be feasible if our lecturers, researchers, students and staff are able to work closely with the hospital.

"Working on these initiatives in partnership with the Great Western Hospital is one of the main attractions of the Swindon development for the university."

She is anxious for the university to link up with Swindon's business fraternity and to boost the town's higher education opportunities, which are currently lacking.

"It is important for people to understand that there is no threat to Coate Water," she said. "No one can touch that protected beauty spot and, indeed, our own environmentalists on campus would be the first to rebel if there was any question of that."

If the Coate site is sanctioned, the university will also establish a new smaller town centre campus for the creative arts, complementing the one at Oakfield.

Swindon Council leader Coun Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawn) said: "All political parties are supportive of the university's vision. If this comes off, it will be the greatest development in Swindon for 150 years."

Michael Litchfield