DISAPPOINTED council bosses will present a list of proposals to the owners of Blackburn's run-down Lord Square in a bid to kick-start its redevelopment.

The move comes after uncertainty over the site's future led to a plea for quick action before the area becomes dominated by empty shops and has an adverse effect on the £2million pedestrianisation of Church Street.

Today, Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Coun Ashley Whalley said he was disappointed with Standard Life the centre owners.

He revealed that the company had pulled back from plans which involved either pulling down the Church Street side of the square and the steps in the middle or covering the whole area with a roof.

The only sign of work has been repainting and the blacking out of windows of empty shops with more prominent 'To Let' signs.

Shopping centre manager Arnold Wilcock-Wood revealed the work has been financed by local management rather than Standard Life bosses to improve the security and appearance of the area.

He said he wanted major work to be done in Lord Square but was still awaiting confirmation of the final plans.

There are more than 30 shops in the Lord Square area but 14 are currently empty and another two are due to be vacated soon.

The Zodiac new-age store is set to move into the main shopping centre and the Halifax bank is pulling out to merge with its King William Street branch after its planning application was approved by the council.

Coun Whalley, council executive member for regeneration, said: "The council has drawn up a list of proposals for Lord Square which we hope to present to the company soon.

"I don't want to say what they are yet because information like that is commercially sensitive.

"But I don't think it is any secret that we are disappointed with Standard Life.

"I don't think blacking out windows in empty shops is going to help make the square more attractive.

"I understand it is a major concern to many people.

"In an ideal world, we would have Standard Life totally redeveloping Lord Square, making it an ideal environment for big name quality retailers like GAP and Monsoon.

"Standard Life presented two plans to us, one of which involved pulling down the Church Street side of the square and rebuilding it to make a modern shopping arcade. The steps in the middle would also be pulled down.

"A second plan they presented involved enclosing the whole square. Unfortunately, they have decided to postpone the development plans.f-zf+z

Coun Whalley said he was concerned that Standard Life had put the plans on hold until they saw the effects of the massive development due to take place in Preston by the Duke of Westminster's firm, Grovesnor Developments.

A spokesman for Standard Life said: "We are carrying out the work necessary to re-let the empty units and it is a priority to us.

"The council have chosen to make their feelings known but we do not feel saying anymore at this stage would be productive."

Shopping centre manager Arnold Wilcock-Wood said: "The work that is going on in Lord Square is not being done by Standard Life, it is being done by me as a matter of good house keeping. It is to improve security and appearance."