WARMINSTER residents and councillors have been left frustrated after Wiltshire Council confirmed there is nothing they can do about the scaffolding eyesore on High Street.

Michael Heaton’s petition had attracted more than 500 signatures asking the council to enforce the removal of the scaffolding, which has been in place since 2011.

But the 56-year-old was told there was nothing that could be done other than for Wiltshire Council to “persuade" the owners to have the scaffolding struck.

Mr Heaton said: “Wiltshire Council could act if they wanted to and we in the town think we are being short changed.

“It’s too much hassle admittedly and would be expensive as they would likely have to take the owners to court.

“This money would probably be better on getting new teachers rather than getting the scaffolding taken down, which is fair enough, but it’s an eyesore in the historic core of the town.

“It’s such a waste of a shop in the centre of town but what I think will happen is the owners will wait for it to get into a state of disrepair and then apply for it to be knocked down.”

In the letter addressed to Mr Heaton from Wiltshire Council, they stated that the scaffolding was not in breach of regulations and that they had a valid planning permission.

The letter concludes by saying “should they choose to continue with the scaffold in place, I’m afraid there may be little what we can do”.

The scaffolding at the Grade II listed building owned by Denstar Limited was due to be taken down in April 2014 but never happened leading to concerns from councillors.

Warminster Mayor Sue Fraser said: “We have been trying for two years to get that scaffolding taken down and we had promises from the developer when they said they would take it down, which they haven’t kept.

“We’ve come to a dead end and there is probably nothing we can do until the scaffolding application runs out in February next year.

“They are based in London and are so far away they really couldn’t care.

“It’s definitely a health hazard as inside are rats and pigeons and before they put up the white boards at the start of the year it really was a hazard.”