The future of a prestigious project to open Wales's first residential ballet school at Abergavenny on the former Hill College campus has fallen through.

This follows the collapse of 18 months of intense negotiations between Coleg Gwent and local entrepreneur Dr Olinga Ta'eed who has been leasing the property and held summer and autumn ballet schools at The Hill.

Now CASH (Community Action to Save the Hill), which was set up when Coleg Gwent closed the premises in August 2009, is calling upon the officers and trustees of Coleg Gwent to go back to the negotiating table.

A spokesperson for CASH said: "We became involved to save the Hill College from being razed to the ground to make way for commercial redevelopment. Our passionate conviction was that the Hill College should be saved for continuing residential education and community access, and we believed that Dr Ta'eed's imaginative plans represented the best hope for that to happen.

"We are therefore dismayed that Coleg Gwent refuses to negotiate with Dr Ta'eed over independent valuations of the property which show that their original asking price is way out of line with its current market value. Coleg Gwent appears to care nothing for the community, and is only concerned with maximising their profit. They will have another fight on their hands with the local community if they do not complete the sale at a reasonable price."

Dr Ta'eed had wanted to buy The Hill, a 20-acre country house estate and transform it into the base for the Primo Balletto ballet school. This would have subsidised other initiatives set up by the local environmental charity, Mulberry House, and a raft of community education programmes. These ambitious plans were supported by more than 15 community groups under the umbrella of PATH (Partnership at The Hill), a group set up in September to represent community interest and progress the project.

It is estimated that Dr Ta'eed has spent about £200,000 on surveys, reports, advertising, staff and refurbishing the premises including installing some dance studios. But the final straw came in the recent freeze when a burst water main meant that the site was left without water.

Said Dr Ta'eed: "The Hill is still a popular residential and conference centre but without water, bookings had to be turned away. Falling property prices over the last 18 months means this project is no longer viable unless Coleg Gwent are willing to enter into a dialogue. I have even offered to make up the gap between their asking price and my valuation on a deferred basis, but they refuse to discuss this."

The Hill project with its support from the community was recognised as a Welsh pioneer of the Big Society, the Government's flagship policy to encourage local people to invest in their own thriving communities.

"The Hill project was one of the first four in Britain to be included on the Big Society website, but could well be its first failure," added CASH's spokesperson.

A major delay in completing the sale was due to the lifting of a covenant on the site between Monmouthshire County Council and Coleg Gwent which was finally done last December (2010), at the same time as MCC acquired the land for their new HQ on Coleg Gwent land in Usk.

A spokesman for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said the water had been switched off at The Hill college on January 4 after a leak was found in the pipework within the college grounds which is the responsibility of the owners. The water supply was turned off to avoid further waste.

The spokesman added: " As a goodwill gesture, our engineer checked the service pipe and installed a stop tap to enable the supply to be turned off while the work is carried out. If any customers do spot a water leak, we would ask them to call our Leakline on 0800 281 432."

A joint statement has been issued by Coleg Gwent and Dr Ta'eed: "Difficulty in securing adequate funding in the current economic climate has meant Coleg Gwent and businessman Dr Olinga Ta'eed have reluctantly agreed to terminate the agreement they had in place on the sale of the College's The Hill site in Abergavenny.

"Both parties have been in regular contact over the past few months and have now agreed that there is no immediate prospect of completing the agreed deal. As a result Dr Ta'eed will be shortly vacating the premises, which he had been leasing from the College whilst funding was being sought.

"The College and Dr Ta'eed have discussed the possibility of resurrecting the agreement, should the situation change in the near future.

" The College will now review its position and consider its options for the disposal of The Hill."

Jim Bennett, Principal of Coleg Gwent, said: 'We are extremely disappointed that this agreed sale has fallen through.

"The College has tried really hard to meet the wishes of the local community by striking a deal which was hoped would see The Hill continue as some form of educational establishment.

"We will now review our options to see how we can secure full value for this asset to allow us to re-invest the proceeds back into the college for the benefit of our students. We will of course re-establish contact with local community groups to share our views on the disposal of The Hill and look for possible solutions."

Dr Olinga Ta'eed said: "During the 11 months between agreement and contract exchange property values have fallen dramatically which meant the agreed price was no longer sustainable for our funders.

"We have already had over 140 applications for residential ballet students starting in September 2011, so it is regrettable that we will have to turn these students and their families away from Abergavenny.

"Nevertheless the show must go on! Primo Balletto Youth Ballet are already in rehearsal with a cast of local children for their latest production in Brecon this March, and the hugely successful Primo Balletto Associate Programme which works with talented students who aspire to a career in dance continues at a new venue.

"We will now look for a new residential property for September 2012 opening," he said.

A sad irony

In a tragic irony, last Wednesday - the day on which the negotiations collapsed was also the day when PATH were hosting a visit to The Hill from the administrator of the Raymond Williams Foundation who had agreed to transfer 11,000 books from the Wedgwood Memorial College at Barlaston in Stafford, to start a new residential library at The Hill to be used by students subsidised by the Foundation. Raymond Williams (1921 – 1988) was an influential left-wing writer, academic and champion of adult education. He was born locally in Pandy, the son of a railway worker, and attended King Henry VIII Grammar School.

Last summer, most of the beautiful gardens, lawn, woodlands and grassland were registered by Cadw which must be taken into account by any traditional housing developer hoping to get planning permission. The registration was partly because of the connection with John Wedgwood of the famous potters' family and founder of the Royal Horticultural Society.

A gardening group of volunteers, the Friends of Gardd-y-Bryn, has been set up to restore the once magnificent walled garden which dates back to 1798. The woodlands are managed by a group from Abergavenny Climate Action. Both groups are still being allowed access by Coleg Gwent with the help of Dr Ta'eed. On Wednesday afternoon, Abergavenny Rotary Club went ahead with donation of equipment to support the garden