AN ICONIC college building in Tenbury has new owners.

Councillor for Tenbury Wells Ward, Andrew Willmott, took to Facebook to announce the Tenbury college's "good news".

Coun Willmott described in his Facebook post how “local heritage asset” St Michael’s College near Tenbury Wells “has just changed hands”.

“The new owner is a UK company who intend to refurbish and re-open the school next year,” said Coun Willmott, although no further information on the buyers’ identity was provided.

After closing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tenbury school was on the market with estate agents Fisher German this January.

The college, founded in 1856 by the Reverend Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley as a choir school for boys, has seen several buildings and facilities added to support its educational use over the years, all situated in grounds of around 22.76 acres and forming a total circa 72,172 square feet of accommodation.

The school offered a diverse wealth of properties to its buyers, including the Grade II listed principal college building, the student boarding houses, a sports hall, and several educational blocks - all of various sizes, ages, architectural styles and conditions.

Vehicular access to the college is provided in two locations directly off Oldwood Road. Its grounds also feature a woodland and traditional orchard.

When the future of St Michaels College was discussed by Tenbury Town Council back in January, members received a presentation from a representative of the college’s sale marketers Moore Development Management on the proposed strategy for securing a viable use for the site.

The team were keen to include Tenbury Town Council, the residents of Tenbury and the Malvern Hills District Council planning authority who had already expressed a desire to find a suitable use for the college in the development of the strategy.

A report of the meeting confirmed how the council members expressed their support in finding a sympathetic solution for the site at the time. Coun Willmott's recent Facebook post affirmed his support as he wished the new owners "all the very best in bringing this enterprise back to our area and preserving the historic buildings."