A Worcester city centre building is to sit, unused, for the foreseeable future after budget cuts to a Worcestershire college.

Heart of Worcestershire College have made the decision to ‘mothball’ two of their buildings from the start of the next academic year, a spokesperson confirmed.

Mothballing is when assets are taken out of operation for a period of time, often before being sold.

The St Wulstan’s building, on Deansway in Worcester, and Osprey House, in Redditch, will both be taken out of operation from the start of the 2021/22 academic year, which begins in September.

The two buildings were predominantly used for higher education provision and as office space for the college’s business support departments, all of which have now been relocated to other buildings.

The college spokesperson confirmed that the decision came after a lack of funding, the effects of which were made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

They said that despite “numerous high-profile national campaigns” a review had to take place and consequent changes to the college’s operations were made.

They added: “This will not impact on any of the curriculum that we deliver – we will simply be condensing the same courses into fewer buildings.”