Land for sale in St. Michaels College, Oldwood Road, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire WR15

Introduction

Fisher German are delighted to offer St Michael's College for sale. Formerly a boarding school, built in the mid-19th Century and closed in June 2020 leaving the majority of the property vacant. Over that time a number of buildings and facilities have been added to support its educational use, resulting in an extensive range of period and modern buildings, standing in grounds of approximately 22.76 acres (9.21 hectares) and a total of circa 72,172 sq ft of accommodation.

Location

St Michael's College is situated amidst the beautiful Countryside in an impressive northwest Worcestershire setting.

The closest towns to the school are Tenbury Wells to the northeast (1.5 miles), Leominster to the southwest (7.9 miles) and Ludlow (9.7 miles) northwest. The closest cities are Worcester (23 miles), Hereford (20 miles) and Birmingham (40 miles). The nearest motorway is the M5, Junction 5 at Droitwich (26.5 miles). The Worcestershire Way trail, Malvern Hills, Teme Valley and Witley Court and Gardens are within the surrounding area.

Description

St Michael's College was founded in 1856 by the Reverend Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley as a choir school for boys. The school has a diverse range of properties including the principal college building which is a Grade II* Listed building. In addition, there are 13 other buildings on the campus of various sizes, ages, architectural styles and condition, including student boarding houses, a sports hall, and several educational blocks. Central to the site is a semi- detached residential property (Mioak) which is included however the other semi-detached property (Cloisters Cottage) is not part of the ownership.

Vehicular access is provided in two locations directly off Oldwood Road. The main entrance to the school leads to a fork junction with the left lane known as College Walk runs to Jubilee House and the right lane leads directly to the entrance of the main college building, passing the church to the right. A second entrance is located further along Oldwood Road which loops around the back of the main college building to meet the main entrance car park.

From the south, the college is approached up a natural incline and to the north the land naturally sloped away from the college towards the playing fields.
The grounds also include a woodland and traditional orchard.

Planning

The principal college building is a Grade II* Listed Building with some of the other buildings on site classed as "Non- Designated Heritage Assets".

The whole site falls within Planning Land Use Category C2 (Residential Institution). There is a substantial planning history relating to the use of the site as a former boarding school and educational institution, including a number of lapsed permissions for further expansion of the build form.

The site lies outside of any recognised settlement boundary as defined by the South Worcestershire Development Plan (swdp), however, Malvern Hills District Council have expressed a desire to work collaboratively to assist in finding a viable use for the site and its historic buildings. Further to this, Malvern Hills District Council currently has a shortfall in its housing land supply and this would potentially lend support to proposals involving residential uses on the site. Additionally, at local and national policy level, there is support of re-using redundant rural buildings and facilitating the optimal viable use of heritage assets.
The site comprises of individual trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), along with an area of woodland subject to a TPO and a traditional orchard which is defined as a Priority Habitat.

Prospective purchasers should contact Malvern Hills District Council with specific planning enquiries.

Please see the Planning Advice Note prepared by Zesta Planning & Development Consultancy, together with other planning related documents which are available in the Data Room for further information.

Former boarding school

Unique opportunity situated in the picturesque and beautiful countryside in northwest Worcestershire

Approximate total gea Floor Area 72,172 sq ft (6,707 sq m)

Grounds extend to approximately 22.76 acres (9.21 hectares)

Grade II* Listed principal college building

Offers invited for the freehold interest in the whole site

Potential for a variety of uses including hospitality, education/training, healthcare, residential/mixed use development

Exciting re-use or re-development opportunity.