THE possibility of an 8,000 student University of Bath campus coming here will depend on whether the Swindon Local Plan can be amended.

The University of Bath, which already has a Swindon campus at the former Oakfield School in Walcot, has given its backing to go ahead with a campus specialising in science.

It is hoped the project will be complete by the end of the decade and that the campus will be sited near Great Western Hospital.

But University of Bath vice chancellor Professor Glynis Breakwell, speaking as she gave the media a tour of the University of Bath, said success was not a forgone conclusion.

She explained: "What we want to do during the course of the summer is develop the strategy that would result in the Local Plan being changed.

"We have secured some help from experts who understand these planning processes. You need someone who is very attuned to the environmental issues."

The Swindon Local Plan sets out development strategies for the town, according to the advice of government experts, who take into account such issues as population and employment growth.

Under the current plan, the land where the university hopes to build its new campus is designated for no development.

However, the University of Bath is hoping it can achieve an amendment to the plan by stressing the importance of a university campus to the town and the prestige it would bring.

Professor Breakwell said: "If we are allowed to develop the campus we want to develop, it will provide the people of Swindon, and the region, with something that is simply state-of-the-art in terms of higher education and research.

"It will support the community and it will support local businesses. It will also probably be the most visible university campus in the country because of its siting."

Since establishing its Oakfield campus, the university has attracted 2,000 enrolments per year from local people anxious to take part in courses covering everything from languages to computing.

Oakfield is also the seat of learning for 30 MBA students seeking to improve their business skills and their chances in the career arena.

And, as of September this year, another 200 students will be studying there enrolled on a new MBA course designed to cater for engineering professionals.