Labour’s call for County Council to buy the Malvern Hills College.

Worcestershire Labour County Councillors are calling upon the County Council to acquire the Malvern Hills College and to save it from closure.  Local campaigners have already succeeded in gaining approval that the building is listed as an asset of community value.  Under the Localism Act 2011, a compulsory purchase can take place by the local authority or council “if the asset is under threat of long-term loss to the community”.

Labour Leader Robin Lunn said “We believe in adult education and we believe the college has a future, under local authority control it could become a shining light in vocational and artistic education which will help people who have been left unemployed by the COVID crisis, we need to offer new opportunities and lifelong learning, which would be part of such a plan for the future.  We would also look to use the College to promote and help bring to reality, our “Green New Deal” by way of appropriate apprenticeships. In short, this college must be maintained and not allowed to fade away”.

County Councillor Richard Udall added “We hope to be able to use the college as new home for our adult education team, they do a marvellous job helping people with improving their skills and knowledge; the college would make an ideal location to enable them to share and provide their services to even more people”.

Samantha Charles, a Labour Councillor from Malvern, welcomed the suggestion and added “Labour Councillors in Malvern have worked hard to protect the building, we hope the County Council will now take this opportunity to make saving the college a reality”.

Robin Lunn and Richard Udall have jointly called for a meeting with senior members of the Councils administration and with the Chief Executive of Worcestershire County Council to discuss the suggestion.  Robin added “We hope this can be an all-party objective to secure the college, keep it in public hands and to grow and encourage adult education in Worcestershire”.