The National Library is considering buying Aberystwyth University’s Llanbadarn campus to solve their “storage challenges”.

The library said it is looking at a number of options and the university’s now largely defunct Llanbadarn campus is one of them.

The ‘Cambrian News’ reported in September 2023 that the Llanbadarn campus of Aberystwyth University had been put up for sale with a guide price of £4m as its use has “reduced significantly” in recent years. The university said then that its focus had switched to growing the institution’s Penglais campus.

The Llanbadarn campus, developed in the 1960s and 1970s as the Welsh agricultural College, is situated just off Primrose Hill and is home to several buildings and lecture theatres.

The 20 acre campus includes the Thomas Parry building, which was used as a Covid vaccination centre during the pandemic, along with the large Elsytan Morgan building, the former Students’ Union and accommodation Padarn building and the Rheidol building.

The site also contains several other smaller buildings and garages, and the university said it hopes the area can be “fully utilised by a new owner”.

The campus is being offered for sale as a whole, apart from the section of land which is owned and occupied by Coleg Ceredigion.

The sale is being handled by Aled Ellis and it has been listed with a guide price of £4m.

An Aberystwyth University spokesperson told the Cambrian News in September 2023: “The university’s strategic focus is on growth of our teaching provision on our Penglais Campus in line with our objective to continue to provide an excellent student experience.

“As a result, the use of space on the Llanbadarn campus has been reduced significantly over several years.

“By selling the Llanbadarn site, the university will reduce the use of resources to maintain underutilised assets, and will create an opportunity for these well-serviced grounds on the edge of Aberystwyth to be fully utilised by a new owner.”

Documents for the sale showed that a “phased” vacation of the site was needed, taking up to two years for some of the university buildings on the site to become available for the new owners.

They also say that “subject to planning”, the site may be suitable for “residential development” or “tourist/leisure related enterprise,” but it could prove useful for the National Library of Wales.

A library spokesperson told the ‘Cambrian News’: “The National Library of Wales has been working on plans to solve our storage challenges for some time; these have included options to develop areas both in the library itself and on its grounds.

“We are also considering possible locations beyond the library estate which include the Llanbadarn Campus.

“Due to commercial sensitivity we can’t make any further comment on the matter at this point.”

An Aberystwyth University spokesperson said: “Following their use as a vaccination centre during the pandemic, parts of the Llanbadarn site which are owned by the university were put up for sale. We are continuing to work to ensure that they are purchased by a new owner as soon as practicable.”