West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin is exploring all options to try and preserve teaching at the popular Malvern Hills College site as the current owners prepare to sell off the asset.

And the MP criticised the ‘asset-stripping’ from Warwickshire College Group which appears to have left the specialist art resource to fade and fail under its management.

Harriett held an update call with group chief executive Angela Joyce and has held further calls with stakeholders over the weekend to identify possible solutions to preserve teaching at the site.

Harriett said: “It is clear from my chat with the current management, that the site has been left to wither, without any of the promised investment or support to grow teaching on the site.

“I expressed my concern about the impact on local post-16 education and from the large amount of people contacting me about this issue, I am confident that the community wants to find a swift resolution to preserve teaching – especially arts courses for adult students - at the Malvern site.

“I’ve held talks with a range of stakeholders over the weekend and I am exploring all options as we look to identify a solution.

“The lack of ambition displayed by Warwickshire College Group is troubling and I have shared my concerns with the Further Education Commissioner.

“From their perch in Warwickshire, the group clearly sees the Malvern college site as a high-value commercial asset rather than a valued centre of learning for local people and I’ll be expecting the Commissioner to take a very close look at the provision of vocational educational opportunity in the West of Worcestershire.

“First and foremost, I’m reaching out to all groups to try and find a solution which sees this historic Malvern asset protected.”