DOUBT hangs over the future of Ushaw College, near Durham, the only training centre for would-be Roman Catholic priests in the North of England.

St Cuthbert's College, better known as Ushaw College, could be forced to close under proposals outlined by the Roman Catholic Church last week.

A shortage of trainees coming forward for a life in the priesthood has left around half of the places at the country's four seminaries, or training colleges, unused.

Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales are to consider proposals to merge Ushaw College with St Mary's in Oscott, near Birmingham.

Under the proposals one of the colleges would close, with the other remaining open to provide a single site college for the whole of the North of England and the Midlands.

A similar amalgamation, involving Wonersh Seminary in Surrey and Allen Hall, in south west London, would provide a single South of England college.

Conference members agreed that the leaders of the four seminaries should discuss the situation with their respective bishops before any decision is taken.

General secretary, Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, said: "The numbers in the seminaries have fallen and are likely to remain at about that figure."

But he said the Church wants to consider the most appropriate way to train priests in the twenty-first century, and discussions would be ongoing.

He added that the conference's desire to merge by September next year may be unrealistic.

Ushaw College president Father Jim O'Keefe said: "No decision has been made yet. In fact, the only decision is that we talk about it and that process could take up to two years."

College director of teaching, Father Paul Fisher, said: "The only definite thing is that we have discussions with Oscott College to see how we can best use our resources."

Ushaw College's roots can be traced back to France, in 1568, in the anti-Catholic post-Reformation period.

It moved onto its present site, with its picturesque grounds, three miles west of Durham, in 1808.

Facilities now include a conference centre, and an institute of education, but numbers of seminarians have dwindled from a one-time high of 200, to just 35 in recent years.

Plans have also been put forward to sell off much of the 380-acre site as a proposed hotel and golf course venue.