HOPES of Winchester becoming a university city by 2006 are set to be dashed.

Paul Light, the new principal of King Alfred's College, believes the target date set by his predecessor, John Dickinson, is too ambitious.

Prof Light, who starts his £85,000-a-year job at the college next Wednesday, will disappoint many local people who looked forward to the prestige of the title.

Prof Light, 53, said: "It is not realistic to have a university title by 2006. The government's view is that there are too many universities.

"There has been a shift in policy which has been reflected in new procedures which are demanding and take a long time to fulfil. The securing of the university title is not one of my key agendas. I want to make sure it feels like a university and behaves like one."

He said his priority was achieving full degree-awarding powers which would allow King Alfred's to call itself university college. Full university status can only be achieved after at least five years.

Its degrees are currently awarded by Southampton University. In 1998 the college was rapped by the authorities for incorrectly using the "university college" title.

Prof Light, a former professor of psychology at Southampton University and currently pro vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University, said the lack of the full title might hamper recruiting of staff and students. "But we are not having difficulties recruiting. Some universities are. So the title is not the only factor in determining success."

He said his vision for the college involved growth via the Internet and more work-based courses. That would enable the college to take on more students and a wider course range but without squeezing more buildings into its campus.

There is growth potential in part-time, mature study instead of the traditional full-time courses. The college would work more closely with businesses.

"Higher education is about big ideas, the knowledge economy. Businesses are about ideas. I want to develop good ideas between business and the college.

"The culture of small businesses has been antipathetic to higher education. That is changing and needs to change more.

"If I was grasping for a slogan, 'Ideas in Action' is a good one," he said.

The image of the college was one he hoped to change. "History can be a hindrance. The image of the college as for teacher training is still in the mind of a lot of people. It is very far from that. Teacher training is very important but it is a minority of the college's work."

David Cowan, chief executive of Winchester City Council, said it was disappointing that the college's aspirations had not been achieved.

He added: "But, and it is a big but, we do have three university colleges in Winchester, at King Alfred's, the School of Art and Sparsholt. The most important thing is to keep these colleges strong and work with them. We would like the title to be there as it gives a status to the city but we are still an important education centre with numbers going up steadily."