AN historic building in Penzance which is in a poor state of disrepair could be saved by Cornwall Council.

The Ganges in Chapel Street used to be home to an Indian restaurant with accommodation on the upper floors.

However the listed building has not been used for many years and is falling apart. Several years ago tiles from the roof of the building fell off into the town centre street.

A campaign to Save The Ganges was set up by locals who wanted to try to protect the building from further damage and bring it back into use.

Cornwall Council has undertaken emergency repairs on the building in recent years but struggled to resolve issues over who owned separate parts of the building.

Next week the council’s Cabinet is set to discuss a report on whether it should buy the building so it can be brought back to life. It suggests the building could be used for a mix of residential and employment.

The report states: “Due to the building being held in different ownerships it has been a challenge for the owners to bring forward a unified and credible scheme to return the whole building to use, and this has not happened to date.

“The recommendations are to acquire and renovate the building with the acquisition being by negotiation in the first instance but with recourse to compulsion if agreement cannot be reached.”

Officers state in the report that if it goes ahead then the council may set a precedent and be asked to help save other buildings. But they say each case would have to be dealt with on individual merit.

The report states that the council would look to bid for funding to purchase the building and to carry out renovations and repairs. It suggests the Heritage Lottery Fund could be one source of funding.

Historic England has also been revealed to have offered 15% of the total costs of the project.

A confidential report contains details of the finances but the main report does reveal that the cost of the refurbishments would be more than £500,000.

The Cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday, December 18.