PUB chain JD Wetherspoon says it is still committed to opening new premises in a fire-hit building in Pontypool, perhaps as early as August.

Uncertainty over the company's much-delayed plan to open a pub on Osborne Road intensified after fire gutted the site last November.

Since then, workmen for the company have been preventing any further deterioration of the building and removing asbestos.

A spokesman for Wetherspoon said: "We are looking at repairing the fire damage at the moment, so there is a lot of work going on.

"Some parts of the building were completely gutted, from the roof to the floor. All asbestos has been removed now.

"We are trying to secure the shell of the building so that we can restore it. That is our priority. Work on fitting out the building should begin in the next few weeks.

"We are looking at an opening date of August.

"We are aware of local concerns and want to reassure people that we are hard at work to complete the building."

The spokesman added that estimates on the cost of the project, initially estimated as 1.2 million, had doubled since the fire.

Wetherspoon has taken a long lease on the site at 130-131 Osborne Road from Pontypool Park Estate.

The project was first announced in 2001 when the company said it hoped to open in 2002. It has even been given a name - The John Capel Hanbury.

Since then, a series of start dates have passed without work beginning.

A spokesman previously said the delays were due to "issues over the ownership of the building and planning details."