Bicester Town Council is to submit three planning applications to help decide what to do about the vexed question of Garth House, currently home to the town council, Citizens’ Advice and register office.

The options will have scale models built of them, and residents will then decide which of the three they prefer.

It will be the third time the town has been asked what to do with the property.

The planning options, to be submitted to Cherwell District Council, are complete demolition, repairing and extending the building, or demolishing it while keeping the front facade.

Town mayor Pauline Liddington said: “Garth House is falling down around our ears. We can’t use the top floor at all because it’s wet.

“We do use the first floor but one of these days the girls are going to come through the ceiling, desks and all.

“Before we go out to members of the public, we felt we ought to get outline planning permission for all three ideas, rather then people deciding on one of the ideas and we could not get planning permission for it.”

A decision from Cherwell is expected in about eight weeks.