A £4million training centre in Bordon could be saved from closure as talks with potential new providers have been held.

The Future Skills Centre could continue with a new organisation at the helm as owners Hampshire County Council has held talks with its tenants and would-be providers.

The facility run by the Basingstoke College of Technology is due to close this summer amid £100,000-plus losses and a dwindling cohort, with just 29 students at the 272-place facility.

A decreased take-up in apprenticeships, the impact of lockdown and covid, increased material costs and poor public transportation links have also been cited as reasons for the scheduled closure.

Hampshire county councillor Andy Tree asked at the authority’s AGM about the centre’s future and whether it would remain an educational facility for young people.

And there may be a glimmer of hope as new HCC leader Cllr Nick Adams-King said “informal conversations” are being had with other providers for the same service.

He said: “The council is in active dialogue with Basingstoke College and we are awaiting formal notification of their intention to exercise the brake laws in the lease, which would take effect from June 2025.

“This council is committed to securing an available and sustainable solution which meets the local area’s current and future skills needs.

“Officers are already in an informal dialogue with a number of respective alternative providers.”

He added: “We are doing the best we can and looking for somebody else to provide the same services on the site.”