The derelict building in Monnow Street next to Lloyds Bank is very unstable in places and the owners do not know whether it is worth repairing it, the town council was told on Monday.

After speaking to county heritage manager Amy Longford, the chair of planning Rob Caffel said: "There is nothing going to happen in the short term. They are doing a ’soft strip’ inside the building. It’s a timber-framed building. They have no idea of the extent of the damage but in places it is very unstable and they do not know whether it is economically viable to repair and mend.

"They don’t even know if it can be mended and brought back to a safe state."

He asked the planning committee to "come back with ideas on how we can escalate what can be done" at the next planning meeting in a fortnight. Asked about a compulsory purchase he said Ms Longford said that it is way down the list. 

When Mr Caffel said there was no likelihood of a short term solution Cllr Anthea Dewhurst said: "Surely it ought to be made weather-proof?, saying the roof had apparently gone.

Cllr Sue White was worried about the adjacent buildings should No 20 collapse.

Mrs Dewhurst was keen to give David Farnsworth (a freelance development consultant) "his due" because he had been raising the alarm about this building for a long time.