Members of the public could be asked to leave a meeting next week to allow councillors to discuss a key Fraserburgh building in private.
The property – the former police station at Kirk Brae – is at the centre of a multi-million pound plan to regenerate the town’s shopping district.
However, it was sold in 2009 to a private owner – meaning the council cannot progress plans to restore the listed property to use until it has been bought back.
Concerns were previously raised by local councillor Brian Topping, who said that he was worried by the length of time the authority has had to buy the property back and make a start on its £5million redevelopment programme.
Last night, he said he could not comment on the details in the private report, but he would be asking why it could not be dealt with in the open.
He said: “I will be looking very closely to see if, in my view, this needs to be in private.
“The legal officers can give you advice, but you can ask if the generalities of the report can be taken in public.
“I think the general public are interested in knowing what’s going on.”
Officials want the item be dealt with privately because of information about finances or the terms of the purchase could be revealed.
Ronnie McNab, the chairman of the town’s community council, said he just wanted to see the building brought back into use – however the decision is made.
“There’s nothing more I’d like to see than that,” he said.
“We vote in councillors to debate on issues on our behalf, so I’m not fazed one way or the other if we get a say or not – just as long as it comes to fruition.”
The former station has been empty since 1998 and the town’s police officers are now based in modern premises at Finlayson Street.
In January, the council’s project officer for the ambitious scheme, Ian Rogan, told councillors that buying the building back could take up to eight months to complete.