THE PANDEMIC has impacted plans for a national training hotel based at Moreton Morrell College.
WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group) had plans to transform Moreton Hall into a four-star training hotel – and also to restore the building after it was severely damaged by fire in 2008.
The pandemic has meant organisations are not currently loaning funds and the hospitality and tourism industry has been hit hard – diminishing any prospect of industry support.
WCG has also announced the potential sale of the gatehouse lodge, a residential house at Moreton Morrell College, and some agricultural land because of the financial pressures of Covid-19.
The further education sector has also been impacted by funding cuts in recent years.
WCG CEO Angela Joyce said: “We are disappointed to have had to make this decision regarding Moreton Hall and we recognise there was a great appetite among our supporters to see the building restored to its former glory.
“Thanks to the support of the National Heritage Lottery Fund we now have detailed plans for the hall and we hope to implement these plans so that this vision will become a reality at some point in the future.
“From the offset we were looking to the industry to support us in creating this new training facility to support skills development in hospitality and tourism.
“We have also been seeking support from other sources and hope that we may in time be successful through a range of support to resubmit our application to the NHLF with ‘our part’ of the funds already raised.
“Our industry supporters are already telling us that the workforce challenges they faced before the pandemic will reoccur and so the need for Moreton Hall still exists.
“Financial pressure in the college sector has been significant for many years and a global pandemic has made it worse. We will continue to prioritise our students and apprentices and in order to balance educational objectives while still maintaining a financially stable business, we are taking some tough steps currently.
“By making these difficult decisions we are able to support the long-term future of Moreton Morrell College, and the government’s skills priorities in a post-Covid and post-Brexit world.
“We will like many others play our role in the future of the UK, which looks to be very different from the recent past.”
