The two-storey commercial building in Macquarie Street commonly known as the former Dubbo Post Office has been vacant for some time.

Now Dubbo Region mayor Ben Shields has written to Telstra with concerns about the upkeep of “the city’s most iconic building and grandiose clock tower”.

The building is owned by Telstra and is a significant historical feature of Dubbo’s CBD.

The mayor’s letter, direct to Telstra CEO Andrew Penn, raised the concerns of the council and community.

“It is with great regret that the beautiful tower is in full decay,” Councillor Shields said in the letter.

“Putting it in simple terms, this is not a matter of needing a simple clean – this is a matter where the building is starting to literally crumble and wear, has a major pigeon infestation and looks tattered.”

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Cr Shields said he had requested Telstra, as the current owners, to review the maintenance program for the building.

“The state of this building has long been a major talking point for the community of Dubbo,” he said.

“The public, the business community and council want to see this building properly maintained and functioning.

“It has been vacant since the Telstra shop was closed in 2010 and has since continued to decay as a result of lack of care and maintenance on behalf of Telstra as building owners.

“In good faith, I am again raising the concerns the community and council have with this building being in a state of disrepair so that funding can be prioritised to protect this historic building and return it to a functioning, valuable asset to the CBD.”

The council is awaiting a response from Telstra on the matter.

The issue sparked debate on social media, with a number of people saying in posts to the Daily Liberal Facebook page that they were concerned about the condition of the building.

“Only in Dubbo would an iconic building in prime position be left to go to wrack and ruin,” Narelle Grant said. 

“Good to see this council having a go.”