West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed confirmation from the Department for Education that negotiations are continuing to try and save Malvern Hills College.

A meeting was held in December with the senior leadership team at Warwickshire College Group and the organisation remains open to offers to buy the site, but that any buyer will need to pay funds to both Malvern Hills District Council and the college group if it makes a future profit on the sale of site.

The owners of the historic building on Albert Road North have also confirmed that any proceeds from the sale will be ploughed back into local education provision at their sites in Pershore and Evesham.

Skills Minister Robert Halfon confirmed the meeting with Warwickshire College Group in a letter to Harriett outlining the Department for Education’s response to the court case, where the college group sued Malvern Hills District Council over the covenant protecting the site solely for educational use.

The property is currently being marketed for community use and the MP welcomed the news that the door is still open for prospective bidders.

Harriett said:

“I’ve had a detailed response from the Minister outlining the latest news and he has confirmed that the door is still open to bidders to come forward.

“Although the community-led bid has fallen away, I remain hopeful that the site will be preserved for education purposes and I continue to talk to relevant providers in case someone can come forward to rescue the site.

“I am also pleased to hear that any proceeds from the sale will be retained to support learners in Worcestershire and this is a commitment that I will be following closely.

“At the moment the former Malvern Hills College building is a sad sight and it needs a new owner to bring it back into community use.”