The new owner of a fire-damaged pub in east Suffolk is coming under increasing pressure to make their intentions for the building known.

The George Inn in Wickham Market was bought under auction last month by a London company, whose identity remains something of a mystery in the village.

The immediate community initially welcomed the sale and hoped it could pave the way for its reopening – 18 months after it had been closed following a devastating fire.

However, councillors discussing the matter at Monday’s parish council meeting expressed concern that no application had yet been submitted and no contact made by the owner to discuss their plans.

Parish chairman Dick Jenkinson said: “We wait with bated breath for a planning application from the company as to what it wants to do with it.

“We had hoped too that it might have happened by now.”

Bryan Hall, who is Wickham Market’s district councillor, was also anxious for some definitive explanation about the owner’s intention.

“Planners are pressing the fact that an application has not yet been received,” he said.

A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal District Council said it was not in a position to disclose the owner’s identity. He added: “We have had some very recent and brief communication with an agent representing the new owner but have had no specific discussions over their proposals. We invited the new owner to meet with us immediately after the auction of the building.

“The reinstatement of this building remains of upmost importance to the local planning authority and officers are actively pursuing the new owner to come forward with plans for the pub in the near future.”

The building, parts of which date back to medieval times, is subject to an order preventing its demolition and insisting it is kept as a pub.