Wales' largest further education college, Coleg Gwent, has announced a series of wide-reaching plans to secure its financial viability and long-term future following funding cuts by the Welsh Assembly Government.

A standstill position in 2008/09 and a 7.43% cut for further education in Wales in 2009/10 means the College has been forced to find cost savings of up to £3.5 million.The scale of these cuts has forced Coleg Gwent to consider drastic changes to its operations, including the closure of The Hill Education and Conference Centre in Abergavenny and the relocation of A Level courses from Pontypool to Crosskeys. Both changes would take place at the beginning of September 2009. Other courses at Usk, Newport and Ebbw Vale will also have to close at the end of this academic year in July.

The proposals form part of the College's Sustainability Action Plan, a strategic review into the College's operations designed to ensure the financial viability of Coleg Gwent and safeguard the education of its 35,000 learners.

A country house on the outskirts of Abergavenny, The Hill is a conference centre and licensed wedding venue. Its education provision includes IT, horticulture, adult learning classes and residential courses. The funding cuts mean the College has had to consider some difficult options about which of its activities will be viable in the future, particularly those outside its core offering of post-16 education.

Howard Burton, principal of Coleg Gwent, said: "The cuts made by the Welsh Assembly Government have been nothing short of devastating. We expected an additional £2.7m to our budget for 2009/10, instead we are facing a £300,000 cut because of the 7.43% cut for all post-16 education in Wales. The College predicts that the changes would result in up to 74 redundancies.