BIG efforts have been made to improve Blackburn as a shopping centre over the past few years.

The recladding of the centre itself a few years ago, improvements to the market, the rebuilding of the railway station and the pedestrianisation of Church Street have all been aimed at making the town a more attractive place.

At the bottom of Darwen Street a new retail park has grown up with a variety of large scale outlets and Barbara Castle Way has improved traffic flow and given a new look to the North side of the town.

But at the heart of the town centre lies an eyesore which is negating so much of the good work.

Anyone walking from the railway station, past the cathedral, along newly revamped Church Street and on to the town hall has to go through Lord Square - a tatty relic of the 1960s which lets down everything else around it.

This seriousness of the situation is highlighted in an independent consultants' report to Blackburn with Darwen council which warns that shoppers will turn their back on the town unless Lord Square is improved.

The report also says that unless more space is found for big-name retailers the town centre will become dominated by value and discount shops because they are the only businesses wanting to move into the growing number of vacant premises.

Coun Andy Kay, who is in charge of the borough's regeneration, rightly points out that it will take more than the lick of paint it has been given to improve the look of Lord Square.

Removal of the unsightly disused liftshaft and better lighting could quickly make a big difference to the look of the place.

The problem is that since owners Standard Life ditched a comprehensive £18million refit plan two years ago they have come up with nothing significant to alter the square's shabby appearance.

They must do something to protect their own investment and the future of everyone in the borough.