ENFORCEMENT action will be considered over the Chinese Consulate's controversial wall in south Belfast "if diplomatic channels are exhausted", the city council has said.
A senior planning official said the dispute is "receiving daily attention and is a high priority for the council to resolve".
The consulate has caused uproar in the leafy Malone Road area after erecting an "eyesore" metal boundary structure without planning permission.
A planning enforcement investigation is continuing and the council has raised the row with the British foreign office.
The consulate says the metal structure is temporary, and it hopes to build a permanent wall that both meets its security needs and respects the character of the neighbourhood.
But residents fear the consulate will seek to ignore planning rules by claiming diplomatic immunity.
Plans submitted by the consulate in May last year, but later withdrawn, showed proposals for an almost 10-feet-high wall topped with railings and razor wire.
Una McDonald, senior planning enforcement officer at Belfast City Council, gave residents an update on the enforcement probe.
"Senior council staff continue to engaging positively with the Chinese Consulate in an effort to resolve the issue concerning the ongoing works at the site," she wrote.
"The consulate have confirmed the steel structure which has been erected is a temporary security measure pending further works and we are working with the consulate to obtain full details of these works and the submission of applications.
"If diplomatic channels are exhausted with no successful outcome the council will consider service of an enforcement notice.
"We hope the above provides some additional clarity and please be assured that this is receiving daily attention and is a high priority for the council to resolve and we regret that we are unable to provide any further details at this time."
Meanwhile, SDLP South Belfast MP Claire Hanna has raised the issue with a senior official in the British foreign office.
Ms Hanna wrote to permanent under-secretary Simon McDonald to seek clarity on whether the consulate can "invoke diplomatic immunity", one of her staff told a constituent in correspondence.
The constituency office worker added that they understand the council is "seeking legal advice about a possible court enforcement against the consulate".
Asked about this, a council spokeswoman said they "cannot provide any further information as it could impact on the investigation".
The area is a planning conservation zone in which development must meet stricter rules to be in-keeping with its existing architectural character.
Residents have urged the consulate to share their plans and agree a structure that complies with the conservation area.
The consulate has defended its construction work by citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
However, Attorney General John Larkin's office has said that international laws on diplomatic immunity do not exempt consulates from local planning legislation.
The consulate is based at MacNeice House, a listed building which dates from 1889.
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