Angus Council had commissioned a report to investigate possible future uses of the Tower.

And agreement had previously been reached to adopt, for the time being, the option which involved minimal maintenance in order to comply with Health and Safety regulations.

But the possible future uses were to include lease or sale of the property to a third party.

When the matter reached the agenda of Thursday's meeting of the full council, Councillor Bob Spink expressed surprise that the authority's conservation officer, Paul Mitchell, had apparently not been consulted, and he asked if there would be input from him in future documents.

He also asked: "Since comprehensive figures are quoted in the report, has any effort been made to establish any possible sources of outside funding which could reduce the cost?"

Alarmed by the possibility of sale to a private developer, Councillor Spink asked for a fifth clause be added to the report, if approved, that public opinion be widely sought throughout Arbroath by way of consultation, to establish how important they see the Water Tower as part of the historic built inheritance of Arbroath, to invite their comment on future uses, or even if they feel it should be listed as a Grade A building to be restored and preserved for its intrinsic historic value, for Arbroath, and perhaps even nationally as one of the last of its kind.

Whilst this was voted down, the council's report acknowledges that sale of the Water Tower would be a delicate matter.

It reads: "Factors that will have to be considered include which uses might be appropriate and whether the building can be altered to accommodate any such uses without any adverse impact upon its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. As regards the special architectural or historic interest of the building, much of its character is due to the absence of openings in the exterior walls and its architectural solidity and massing. Re-use of the building will therefore have to be considered in light of these attributes."