Hampshire County Council is in its final stages to secure a new lease for Bordon Future Skills Centre that will continue to be used for post-16 education purposes.

A recent report confirmed that the county council has approved the re-letting of Bordon Future Skills Centre property, which was closed last year after reporting more than £100,000 in losses.

Bordon Future Skills Centre on Hudson Road opened in 2017 in a new £3.8 million building, offering training in areas including construction and carpentry.

Hampshire County Council, which owns the site, leased the building to the Basingstoke College of Technology, which invested £200,000 in its fit-out and offered training in a range of construction trades, such as carpentry, plastering, and plumbing.

In April 2024, college principal Anthony Bravo said the centre suffered from student numbers and apprenticeship declines since the Covid pandemic.

He said the centre had 29 students out of a capacity of 272 and had been losing money “hand over fist”.

The principal said: “It was a lovely idea – training people to work for companies building homes in the area. But Covid came along and destroyed everything. The site has very poor transport links, which didn’t help.”

In May 2024, Hampshire County Council leader Nick Adams-King said “informal” conversations were being had with other providers for the same service.

At that time, he said: “The county council is in an 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.

“The county 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, alongside engaging the district council before any formal process commences to secure that provider.”

A recent report has confirmed that the council approved the re-letting of the centre.

Currently, the council is settling detailed terms of the new lease and the simultaneous surrender of the current lease, if required, to enable the new tenant and educational skills provider to commence occupation in advance of the academic year beginning September 2025.

The county council has been contacted for a comment. However, the council said it cannot provide further details as arrangements have not yet been finalised.

It is anticipated more information will become available “in the next few weeks”, it said.