Time is running out for the directors of the company in control of Nardini"s cafe and restaurant in Largs seafront as the north coast committee of North Ayrshire Council meets on Monday December 3.

The meeting, which is open to the public at 4pm at Moorburn Chambers, will discuss a range of local issues with Nardini"s high on the agenda with the four Largs councillors looking set to refer the matter to the Planning Committee to decide over a compulsory purchase order (CPO).

A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said: 'No decision on Nardini"s will be taken at the North Coast Area Committee on Monday 3 December - it is not within their remit. The report going before Monday"s committee is a statement of the current position as requested as their previous meeting in October. In the event of satisfactory assurances not coming from Italgelat in the immediate future, the Council"s Planning Committee will consider further action.' Councillor Alan Hill, the opposition leader of North Ayrshire Council, said: 'Assuming we all agree, the matter will be referred to the planning committee who will decide upon pursuing a compulsory purchase order. A CPO is a long, torturous process. I hope in turn the current owners will realise that the council is serious and they will get on with the work or will sell it to someone who will complete it. As we know, various interested parties have emerged.' The dilapidated shell of the Nardini"s building, which has been closed for over two years, had a sign up this year indicating it would open in the Spring. However, the world famous restaurant has remained boarded up. McCarthy and Stone opened their residential complex to the rear of Nardini"s in the early autumn. So far, both the Brisbane House Hotel and Messrs Claudio and Aldo Nardini, who run the Green Shutter and Moorings cafes, have declared an interest in restoring the former esplanade cafe and restaurant to its former glory.