A student-led petition from within the University of Plymouth has seen members of the soon-to-be vacated Rolle Campus urge faculty bosses to save the site from sale on the open market. As students gear up to move to a Plymouth base for the next academic y

A student-led petition from within the University of Plymouth has seen members of the soon-to-be vacated Rolle Campus urge faculty bosses to save the site from sale on the open market.As students gear up to move to a Plymouth base for the next academic year, more than 200 - plus several signatures from Rolle staff - have signed a petition to retain education facilities in the town.Two failed bids for the site have been made by a group including Exmouth Community College, Exeter College, Devon County Council and the Learning and Skills Council. The consortium, priced out of a successful purchase, now faces losing the site to the highest bid.According to petition organiser and Rolle Student Union President Mike Austin, the closure has long been opposed by the student body - the potential sale to the highest bidder a further kick in the teeth. University bosses had once promised to retain the Rolle campus, and later vowed to try their hardest to leave an academic presence.Mr Austin, whose views do not necessarily represent the opinion of all students, said: "The sale of the campus has never been a popular decision in the eyes of the students, some staff and certainly myself. "The students are disheartened, and quite rightly so, after years of broken promises from the university."Morale at the campus is running very low, according to the SU president. He says students' love of life in Exmouth has prompted a strong reaction. Aside from the petition, an application to list the union building, Eldin House, has been made - in an effort to stave off the "travesty" of developers pulling it down."One of the biggest draws to Rolle College, aside from the personalised atm-osphere, is the town itself, said Mr Austin. "The learning and life experience our students have received for years in Exmouth can never be recreated in Plymouth. I ask the university to strongly reconsider and, after all the years of broken promises, give this campus back to the town.