STANDARD Life, owners of Blackburn Shopping Centre, have the potential to hold up the whole redevelopment of Blackburn town centre by not acting and doing something with Lord Square.
So says Coun Ashley Whalley, the man tasked with sorting out the town centre.
Already, millions have been pumped into Church Street making it a pedestrianised area - only for Lord Square to remain as it is.
Coun Whalley said: "We had hoped Lord Square would be the catalyst for everything else.
"It will now have to be the other way round. In my opinion, it needs demolishing."
He said: "The lift shaft which goes up to the old Cavendish nightclub needs to come down, and something needs to be done to the underpass.
"It needs totally revamping.
"Standard Life presented an £18million plan last year to revamp it then withdrew it.
"We are happy to work with them but it is their responsibility."
His opinion is backed by Michael Damms, president of the chamber of commerce.
He believes a revitalised town centre will benefit the whole region.
He said: ""A thriving town centre is very important to attract good white-collar jobs, but it can be a chicken-and-egg situation because you often need the white-collar jobs to get the big firms in. Blackburn with Darwen has been very innovative in securing the Capita contract to bring in those white collar jobs and hopefully the town can build on that.
"If Standard Life aren't setting the pace, then an organisation like the council, which has shown how dynamic it can be, should see if they can do something with it."
Ray Goldstone, from the Blackburn Market Tenants Association, said: "There are some good businesses in there at the moment and I am not sure how they would react to having to move.
"But if things are done to improve it, we would welcome it because it would benefit the market as we are so close to it."
Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: "A great deal has visibly been done in the last 15 years to improve the town, but as ever it will require constant effort to stay ahead.
"It is crucial we don't just sit back.
"I am concerned about the state of Lord Square and will take it up with the owners.
"I fully support the council in their belief that it needs to be upgraded.
"If the rest of the town centre is being improved, Lord Square needs to be improved."
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