Formal plans to turn a Lampeter farm into an educational site following its £1.85m purchase by Ceredigion County Council have been approved by county planners in a presentation and debate that lasted less than five minutes.

The council received a loan from the Welsh Government last summer to purchase Llettytwppa Farm on Llanfair Road, in Lampeter, adjacent to the town’s university, which it is converting into an educational site.

The council submitted full plans in April to its own planning department for a change of use from a working farm to a “new Education Establishment for 16 years+ pupils.”

Documents said the site “will remain a working farm with practical lessons taught to students alongside farming operations”.

The plans also call for a temporary mobile toilet blocks on the site to serve the students.

Ceredigion County Council says the project is part of a broader vision to support Ceredigion’s rural economy by offering courses that reflect the needs of the agricultural sector and related industries.

The plans were backed unanimously by the council’s development management committee on 8 July.

Last July, following secret discussions where Ceredigion’s council backed the purchase of a new “strategic asset,” the council announced it had bought Llettytwppa farm, said to be valued at £1.8m, to help deliver vocational and post-16 courses in Lampeter.

The farm purchase, next to the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) campus in Lampeter, follows the announcement earlier that year of the end of undergraduate teaching at Wales’s oldest campus, with courses transferred to Carmarthen.

At the June and July 2025 meetings of Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet, members backed approval the purchase, funded through a loan from the Welsh Government.

Llettytwppa Farm is being transformed into an educational site for pupils who wish to follow courses related to the agricultural and horticultural sectors.

The council has previously stated: “Llettytwppa Farm will play a key role by providing agricultural, horticultural, and supplementary courses such as hedge laying, safe machinery use, agricultural mechanics, sustainable farming, and more – ensuring learners develop the skills they need to stay in their communities to learn, live, and succeed.”

An officer report for members of the planning committee said the scheme is for its consideration rather than being delegated to planning officers as the local authority is the applicant.

It added: “The proposal would involve the continuation of farming activities on the site, with practical lessons being delivered alongside existing agricultural operations.

“Classroom-based learning would take place off-site at nearby premises in Lampeter, with students attending the farm for practical sessions.

“The development is intended to operate on a small scale, with approximately two courses comprising around six students per course, attending the site on a part-time basis.”

“Permission is sought for a three-year period initially, to be secured by condition imposed by the local planning authority.

“No alterations are proposed to the existing buildings as part of this application.

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“Vehicular access would be taken from the existing farm access, with parking accommodated within the farmyard.”