Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

But will be demolished soon anyway to save money.

In reply to a question from Independent councillor Jeff Osborn, Wiltshire Council has stated that the ex West Wiltshire District Council offices are most likely to be redeveloped as housing.

The council says that the abandoned buildings cost £450 per day in rates, so the site should be razed to the ground as soon as possible so the site becomes zero rated.

Independent Melksham councillor Terry Chivers queried why the caretaker's house, on Wiltshire Drive, is also being maintained in a derelict condition. 'I was both shocked and disappointed, to read that the former caretaker's family home on the site, has been left vacant for some time, and now is to be demolished later in the year. It is also alleged that the caretaker's bungalow on the former George Ward School site in Melksham has been vacant now for several years. We have thousands of residents on our housing list in Wiltshire, and it seems to me that it's madness to leave homes that we own empty when they could be put to use housing families that are in desperate need of a home. How many more empty homes is Wiltshire sitting on across the county that could be used to house families off the housing list?'

The Conservative cabinet member Stuart Wheeler says in reply that the council has a duty to maximise the value of the asset and selling it for housing makes the biggest profit. There is, he says, no shortage of employment land in Trowbridge.

The site is not currently on the market, but is likely to be advertised later this year.