PLANS to close Abergavenny's Hill College, where were revealed two weeks ago on the day the Welsh Assembly Government announced it's now reinstated cuts in education funding, were discussed by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) and Coleg Gwent as early as 2008 with the authority agreeing to lift the restrictive covenant which ensures that the college must only be used for educational purposes in order to maximize its "site value."

A confidential document obtained by the Abergavenny Chronicle shows that a cost neutral agreement was reached between MCC and Coleg Gwent under which the restrictive covenant was to be lifted and land at the Usk Campus designated for the development of the new MCC head quarters which was to be shared with Coleg Gwent.

At a meeting on January 27 Corporation members of Coleg Gwent approved, as part of the Sustainability Action Plan recommendation, a draft Head of Term between the college and MCC which covered, the disposal of 9.6 acres of land at Usk to MCC for development of their new headquarters, the release of the restrictive covenant at The Hill, the agreement for Coleg Gwent's occupation of part of the MCC head quarters building for its own head quarters function, the financial contribution of MCC to the development of a new sports hall for the Usk Campus providing, campus staff and according to the document, community facilities at a cost neutral agreement in respect of the first two items the 9.6 acres of land at Usk carries a purchase price of £618,850 which is echoed in the £618,850 cost of lifting the restrictive covenant on the 12.5 acres of land at The Hill.

A MCC spokesperson has confirmed that discussions began with the college "in late 2008" and that during the course of the negotiations council officers had been informed "in confidence" that the college was "looking at proposals to close the Hill due to economic circumstances."

"In order to maximise site value they requested that MCC lift the restrictive covenant on land adjacent to The Hill Residential Centre.  The covenant, in favour of the former Gwent County Council, was passed over to MCC when the former council was replaced by MCC in 1996.  If it remained in place it would stop the site being sold for development until 2016," said the spokesperson.

"It was agreed by officers representing both the Coleg and MCC that they would recommend to their decision making bodies that the cost of the purchase of the college land at the Rhadyr site, Usk required to build the new headquarters for the Council, be offset against the lifting of the restrictive covenant," she added.

 Monmouthshire County Council Leader, Peter Fox said, "We understand The Hill has to close on affordability grounds and that the proceeds from the sale of The Hill will be re-invested in new improved facilities for students throughout Gwent.  The lifting of the restrictive covenant on land at The Hill will improve the anticipated receipt and will go further in Coleg Gwent plans to upgrade other sites.  We were asked to treat the decision to close The Hill as confidential to provide time for Coleg Gwent to inform its staff."

The decision on whether or not to proceed with the exchange of contracts on the land purchase and the covenant release will now be referred back to MCC Cabinet at its meeting on May 6, the Chronicle was told but the council's corporate director of finance Steve Greenslade.

Campaigners fighting against the closure of The Hill which has been described as the "jewel in Abergavenny's crown" however, feel that the college has been sacrificed unnecessarily.

"It seems strange that the council's draft local development plan contains a number of sites in close proximity to The Hill which have been put forward as candidate sites for future housing development," said one campaigner.

Coleg Gwent principal Howard Burton has also defended the move saying that the Hill has been "financially unviable" for a number of years and adding that the potential agreement between MCC and the college was now "out of date."

In a statement to the Chronicle Mr Burton said, "You may have received a confidential document relating to the draft Head of Terms. This set out the principles of an arrangement which may eventually lead to a contract at a future date between Coleg Gwent and Monmouth County Council. These Heads of Terms are now out of date as negotiations with Monmouthshire County Council are ongoing.

"Coleg Gwent has been developing a plan to improve the financial efficiencies of the college. This has been well known both within the college and amongst our key stakeholders. Unfortunately, The Hill has been financially unviable for a number of years. Therefore as part of the financial review of the college, we have had to make proposals that we cease operations at The Hill. The proposal is that we subsequently sell The Hill and use the proceeds to invest back into our estate for the benefit of future learners at the college. The release of the covenant was not a material factor in determining the proposal to close The Hill, which was being developed before the approach in late 2008 from Monmouthshire County Council.

"The benefit of lifting the covenant is to enable the college to maximise the asset value of the proposed sale of The Hill and to use the funds to reinvest for our learners.

"We made an announcement in January 2009 which focused on the partnership between Monmouthshire County Council and the college, and the opportunities to build a new HQ for Monmouthshire County Council and relocating the Usk Campus to a new adjacent site. The on-going negotiations were, and remain, confidential and the proposal to close The Hill had to be part of our announcements on a range of proposals in our Sustainable Action Plan that could not be made before April 1, following approval from our governors."