CAMPAIGNERS are devastated after the council was ordered to remove a covenant protecting a college from being demolished for housing.

The future of Malvern Hills College has been thrown into doubt after a judge agreed to remove a legal agreement which meant the site could only be used for education.

A judge ruled in favour of owners Warwickshire Colleges Group (WCG) at a hearing at the High Court on June 14 ordering Malvern Hills District Council to lift the covenant protecting Malvern Hills College – paving the way for the site to be potentially sold for housing.

The campaign group Save Malvern Hills College, which had been fighting for two years to re-open the college, said it was “devastated” by the news.

Mary Brittain, on behalf of Save Malvern Hills College, said: “It is galling that the future of adult and arts education in Malvern has potentially been decided on a technicality within a poorly worded legal covenant with absolutely no credence being given to the wanton needs of the local community.

“The campaign feels it is shameful that WCG decided to press ahead with legal action rather than trying to reach an equitable deal.

“WCG says that any ‘profits’ from the sale will be reinvested in local education. That may be the case but it won’t be in Malvern.”

Malvern Hills College closed in 2021 after owners Warwickshire Colleges Group (WCG) said the site was “unviable” because of falling student numbers and put it up for sale.

For two years, the campaign group worked to raise funds to buy and reopen the site under a new company Malvern Hills Arts and Community College.

A bid of £1.2 million, backed by Malvern Hills District Council, Worcestershire County Council, and a £400,000 donation from local philanthropist Colin Kinnear of the Bransford Trust, was made earlier this year but WCG said the move “lacked a business plan” and a deal could not be struck before the court case started.

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, who had supported the campaign to save the college and raised its closure in the House of Commons, said the ruling brought her “great sadness” and she would back any appeal by the council.

She said Malvern Hills District Council had “expressed a clear view” to protect teaching at the college and the courts were “ignoring the wishes of the democratically elected councillors.”

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this, where an educational body is willing and able to sue a council to profit from selling off one of our community assets,” she said.

“I understand that WCG’s chief executive, who has led this asset-stripping exercise, will soon be moving on and I hope that wiser heads will prevail, even at this late stage, to allow a deal to be done to ensure teaching is returned to Malvern Hills College.”

WCG’s chief exec Angela Joyce said WCG was still open to offers and was willing to strike a deal which would see the site sold to the community, but it will be exploring other options and even leasing the site until a sale is agreed.