The owners of Malvern Hills College are back in negotiations with prospective buyers.
Talks between WCG (Warwickshire College Group), which owns the site, Malvern Hills District Council and the community-led team hoping to buy the college had stalled.
But a meeting between the parties took place days after the subject was raised during Prime Minister’s Questions by Malvern MP Harriett Baldwin.
The college closed in 2021 but Malvern Hills Arts & Community College is hoping it can resume offering courses from September.
Legal action had been threatened by WCG in a bid to overturn a covenant that protects the provision of education at the Albert Road North site.
A spokesperson for WCG said: “We met with Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) and Malvern Hills Arts & Community College Ltd on Friday.
“We are pleased that the council’s officers have now agreed to engage in a dialogue.
“The college group has been consistent for the last two years in outlining the terms on which a sale could be achieved.
“We have always been willing to talk with any potential buyer who makes a viable offer which satisfactorily meets the legal obligations placed upon the college group.
“It has been disappointing that third parties have continually attempted to place unhelpful pressure on the college which has added delay and unnecessary distraction.
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“Following the without-prejudice meeting, we await a joint response from the council and Malvern Hills Arts & Community College Ltd, the company formed with the support of the three funders to purchase the site, to inform next steps.”
Those three funders are MHDC, Worcestershire County Council and the Bransford Trust. Each pledged in the region of £400,000 to buy the former college in Albert Road North and get it open again.
Last week Ms Baldwin, who has been campaigning for the college to reopen, used the platform of Prime Minister’s Questions to raise the matter in Parliament.
In response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I, of course, recognise the valuable work that all colleges do in meeting the local skills needs and very much welcome local community groups working together to address skills gaps in the way that her local area is doing.”
MHDC has confirmed that talks with WCG are ongoing.
A Malvern Hills Arts & Community College representative said: "These talks have been in the making for a number of weeks and we welcome WCG re-engaging with MHDC and MHACC.
"We are very keen to try to progress a deal which is acceptable to MHACC and its funding partners to enable us to establish a new college of arts and lifelong learning in Malvern for our local and wider community."
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