THE Weavers' Triangle is one of the oldest collections of industrial buildings in the country. They stand as a testament to the drive and ambition of a bygone age when Burnley was the world's undisputed centre of the cotton weaving industry.

But the mill buildings which were once the pride of the town are now a grim monument to the industrial decline that killed off the textile industry. After decades of neglect, decay, vandalism and arson attacks, they are an eyesore that blights one of the key approaches into Burnley town centre.

For the past 20 years, imaginative schemes for the redevelopment of buildings such as Clock Tower Mill, Slaters Terrace and Victoria Mills have come to nothing.

In the early 1980s, Rod Hackney, the one-time architect guru to Prince Charles, tried and failed to weave his magic over the mills.

Like all the developers before and since, the sums simply did not add up. Proposals to breathe new economic life into the old complex have never stacked up in commercial terms. And now, property professionals are questioning whether the "conservation" status awarded to the Weavers' Triangle has been a curse or a blessing.

It is a question that has bedevilled the redevelopment of towns throughout East Lancashire since the mid-1960s. Reconciling the differences between the conservationists who want to preserve our heritage and the developers who have a purely commercial brief has never been easy.

The Weavers' Triangle, in many ways, is a microcosm of the dilemma which is recognised by all sides of the argument.

It is a problem that is now being addressed by Neil Weaver, of chartered surveyors Taylor Weaver, which has been instructed to market four key properties within the area.

He believes that conservation area status has hampered its regeneration and argues that an overall redevelopment plan encompassing the entire Weavers' Triangle needs to be drawn up.

Taylor Weaver is representing Millview Developments which owns Clock Tower Mill, Slaters Terrace, Sandygate Shed and a derelict site next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Wiseman Street. Burnley-based HW Petty & Co is marketing two buildings, both known as Victoria Mill, and around an acre of land is owned by Burnley Borough Council.

"The only way forward is for all three parties to come together," said Neil. "Some developer needs to take on the whole of the area and look at a comprehensive mixed scheme, involving retail, leisure, office and residential uses.

"I think a developer would be prepared to come on board, but there is a danger that they are being put off by conservation area status.

"The fact that some of the buildings are falling down doesn't help and, at this moment, it is not feasible to develop the area without substantial grant assistance."

Mark Clarkson, of Petty & Co, said the listed Victoria Mill buildings had now been on the market for more than 10 years and agreed a unified approach to the regeneration of the Weavers' Triangle was essential. He also believes Burnley Borough Council should be more pragmatic about development proposals.

"The fact that some of the buildings are listed does not help," he said. "What the council would like to see happen isn't always realistic in the real world. From the developer's point of view it is all down to money and if the redevelopment of the Weavers' Triangle is going to work, the whole lot needs to be done. Residential values are not particularly high in that part of Burnley and I can't see how a retail type use would work in isolation. Trafalgar Street is one of the main routes into Burnley and it does the town's image no good if the first thing visitors see are derelict, empty buildings."

David Brown, director of development at Burnley Borough Council, agrees that only a multi-agency approach, involving both the public and private sectors, can provide a solution.

"There is a need to do something that is big, bold and comprehensive," he said. As a council, we have been successful in attracting grant funding, but we have been frustrated in finding developers willing to take on the risk."

Mr Brown concedes that listed building status has been an "added complication" and he hinted that the council could be prepared to soften its stance on the planning aspects of conservation.

"We started the process from the view that we save listed buildings where we can," he said. "When you get a building in such a poor condition as Clock Tower Mill, you have to question whether it is worth keeping as listed.

"The council accepts that it has to be realistic and we are in discussions with English Heritage and a private developer."