The assessment by stand-in chair John Zimny came after Montrose Community Council announced their intention to stop attending Partnership meetings as they felt it was no longer relevant to them.

Mr Zimny said that there has been no interest expressed to him in the vacancy of chair, despite claims by local councillor Mark Salmond that a number of parties had come forward for informal talks.

It's the latest in a long line of setbacks for the Partnership, which has been without a chair since George Taylor resigned from the position in October.

Announcing their decision to stop attending Partnership meetings, chair of Montrose Community Council, Joan Stott, said she felt there was a blurring of lines between the two groups.

She said: "We just feel they're not as busy as they have been and quite a lot of the items and issues discussed are discussed by the community council anyway.

"But we wish the Partnership all the best and hope to see it flourish again in the future."

Mr Zimny - also Angus Council's lead officer to the Partnership - said he was dismayed by the community council's decision to withdraw and said he was saddened by their failure to come forward and discuss the issues they had with the make-up of the organisation.

He said: "I'm very disappointed that the community council have made that decision because the Partnership is about getting all local groups to work together for the betterment of Montrose.

"I would have welcomed a discussion with the community council about why they felt they couldn't participate, or to examine what we could change in our remit or agenda. It's disappointing they haven't discussed it with me or come to a meeting to discuss that.

"But that's their decision and that's fine – we have to move on from that. There are other community councils (Ferryden and Hillside) attending and I would hope they continue to do so."

Mr Zimny said the Partnership's focus remained firmly fixed on attracting a new chair and called on any interested parties to contact him directly.

He said: "We do need to attract someone from the community to take control – to champion Montrose if you like. So far I've not had any discussions with any group or party about taking over as chair.

"I've made a commitment to chair the next three meetings, so we're talking about four to six months then we'd have to examine the whole structure and see where to go."

Mr Zimny said he felt part of the reason the Partnership was having difficulty was that it was seen as a talking shop, but said a possible injection of cash from a proposed civic pride fund put forward in Mark Salmond's budget in February could give the group some much needed impetus.

He also called on local businesses to come forward as he felt the High Street was something that the Partnership could help to enhance and promote.

Any party interesting in taking over as chair of the Partnership should contact John Zimny on 01307 474771.