That's the view of Orange mayor Cr Reg Kidd who will write to the state government seeking a faster response.

The Western Regional Planning Panel is determining a row between the council and others, who want to retain Caldwell House (the old Nurses Quarters in Sale Street) and a government department which owns the building and wants to knock it down.

Council's meeting on Tuesday night was told the WRPP had not yet made a decision, but instead had written to council asking for more information.

Cr Kidd said he would write to the 'relevant state government minister' saying "we are not particularly happy with the timelines in this."

He said there was too much bureaucracy involved.

"This is just another example of flagging things out, flagging things out," he said.

"Instead of ringing us up, which would take one minute to get an answer from our professional staff, they write to us, that takes two or three weeks, we write a reply to them, that takes three or four weeks and next we find it is two months, three months, four months with letters going backwards and forwards to answer some questions."

Cr Kidd said he would write a letter on behalf of the council.

"This is really important for Orange. I get asked the question three or four times a week, 'what's happening'. We want a decision one way or the other," he said.

A Department of Planning, Industry and Environment spokesman said the WRPP had written to both the council and Health Infrastructure.

"The WRPP has requested Health Infrastructure and OCC to jointly fund an independent property economics report on the economic viability of the two options for the Caldwell House site, retention and re-use or demolition and re-development," he said.

The spokesman said a four-week time limit for the provision of the information was in place.

Council recommended the building be saved from demolition at a meeting in July.

However, Health Infrastructure has rejected moves to save the 1937 building.

The government body has said the building was so riddled with asbestos after vandals wrecked the interior it would be too expensive to save it.