Prince Charles business asked to help Malvern water

The buildings are designed to blend in with the rest of the village

Colwall Parish Council has written to Prince Charles to ask if his Duchy Originals company is interested in taking over Malvern Water.

The factory stopped production in November 2010 when the owners, Coca Cola, said it wasn't productive enough.

The council has also approached English Heritage to see if any of the buildings on the site merit listed building status.

Coca Cola want to sell the site for residential development.

Local businessmen Roger Day, who made his money in American oil, and Will Chase, of Tyrells crisps, have both expressed an interest in buying the site.

Natural product

The Vice Chairman of Colwall Parish Council John Mills hopes that Duchy Originals will be interested in Malvern Water:

"It's a natural product, it's organic, it's the sort of thing that Duchy Originals would do, and Prince Charles is the head man of that.

"Purportedly Malvern Water is his mother's favourite, and so we though it was a natural thing to ask them if they were interested."

The council has received an acknowledgment from Duchy Originals, but no reply.

The site could be sold for houses to be built on

Malvern Water has been produced at the site in Colwall since 1892, taking advantage of a nearby natural spring.

The factory buildings were designed to blend in with the rest of the village, and John Mills says this is why they approached English Heritage:

"The council thought there might be some buildings on the site that needed to be preserved, and we didn't want Coca Cola to rush into demolishing things, without that being looked into.

"English heritage have been down... and they've inspected the site to see if there is anything of significance that needs to be protected."