OWNERSHIP of the Malvern Hills Science Park could soon switch hands in order to secure the future of the site.

Worcestershire County Council is considering whether to purchase the freehold of the park from its current owners, QinetiQ, the Malvern-based security company.

The proposal is seen as the best way forward to develop the park and ensure QinetiQ remains a large presence in the town.

If the deal goes ahead, the site will be bought using money from Advantage West Midlands, the regional leader for developing economic prosperity. How much the sale would be worth is still being decided.

The park is considered a vital part of the Central Technology Belt, which was developed to boost the economic strength of the county following the Rover crisis in 1999.

The belt, which runs from Birmingham to Malvern, aims to use Worcestershire's expertise in high technology research and was created to reduce the area's dependence on motor manufacturing.

"By purchasing the Science Park from QinetiQ, we will have greater control of its future and a say in how it is developed," said Mark Middleton, the authority's head of economic development.

"The cash QinetiQ receives from the sale will also allow them to modernise their Malvern site for technology research.

"QinetiQ's main priority, understandably, is to increase their own company but if we bought the site we would also have the interests of the other 20 businesses there at heart."

Matt Danks, spokesman for Advantage West Midlands, said he hoped the deal would go through in the next month or two.

"This is the best thing, as far as we are concerned, for the Malvern Science Park," he said.

"By giving the county council the money to buy the park, we are securing its future. And as the park is one of the biggest success stories of the West Midlands, that is something we are desperate to do."

Worcestershire County Council's cabinet will make a decision this Tuesday, February 8.