Newton Rigg College: Review finds no new suitable owner

College principal Tim Whitaker said he understood "the sense of disappointment"

None of the possible new owners for an agricultural college facing closure are suitable and the site should shut, a review has concluded.

Newton Rigg College, in Penrith, Cumbria, was earmarked to close in July next year after an independent review found it was not financially viable.

Owner Askham Bryan College had received bids to take over the site.

But the Further Education Commissioner concluded the bidders did not meet the required criteria.

College principal Tim Whitaker said he understood "the sense of disappointment amongst staff, students and stakeholders".

"Given that the college is an exempt charity, the governors, as trustees, now have a legal obligation to secure the best outcome for the charity," he said.

Expectations not met

A strategic review started in June to try to find a new owner.

However, the review recommended the college should not accept either bid and the site should close, the college said.

Currently, 536 students, including further education students and apprentices, are based at the site, which was established in 1896.

Askham Bryan took over the site in 2011.

The University College Union previously described its possible closure as "hammer blow" to the region, which would be left without specialist agricultural education.

A group including MP Neil Hudson, Eden Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership has until early next year to see whether alternative education provision is possible on the site.

Askham Bryan will, at the same time, attempt to sell it.