COUNCIL bosses in Burnley are to seek talks with town centre owners Great Portland Estates over the company's decision to quit town.

The London-based developer -- which owns most of the shops in the new central area, including Market Square -- announced its aim to sell its remaining four centres outside London, including Burnley.

The town has benefited from more than £35million of investment since Great Portland took over in the early 1990s.

News that the company, which hopes to ring up more than £240 million from the sales, planned to pull down the shutters on its links with Burnley, was greeted with surprise and sadness in most quarters today.

Great Portland transformed the main shopping area from a tired old '60s centre into one of the top 150 centres nationwide, winning awards on the way.

Today Burnley council leader Stuart Caddy expressed surprise at the move by a company which had been a close partner with the local authority in the drive to update and extend the central area.

He said: "I will be taking steps to gather all the information, with a view to holding a press conference to fully inform the people of the town.

"We joined Great Portland in placing tremendous investment in the shopping area, providing an award-winning centre we can be proud of. I am disappointed they are going."

Great Portland chief executive Peter Shore today confirmed the company's aim to concentrate activities on its central London offices portfolio. He added that the sales would take place over the next two years.

It is understood proceeds will be used to repay group debt which stands at nearly £700,000million

Burnley is the furthest north of the company's four remaining centres -- they also involve the Queen's Arcade in Cardiff; the Harvey Centre, Harlow; the Octagon in High Wycombe -- and the only "open air" development involved. Great Portland came to town, taking over from previous owners County and District Properties, which for years had been at loggerheads with the council over refurbishment.

The previous owner had promised major improvements -- providing the council released its freehold interest in the land.

The two sides hammered out a new 150-year lease, which paved the way for Great Portland's £12.5 million refurbishment of the Market Square and surrounding malls from late 1995. It was the start of a £30million plus investment in the shopping areas by the company and council. It was followed by the £13million Curzon Street development -- opened last year -- which created new parking and more than £80,000 sq ft of extra shopping space in the centre -- bringing to town firms like TJ Hughes and Wilkinsons. Last year Great Portland Estates further tightened its grip on Burnley town centre by snapping up the Empress block in St James Street in a near £6million deal -- taking the company's investment in Burnley to more than £30million in five years. The Empress block, opposite Marks and Spencer and bounded by St James Street, Curzon Street and The Mall, was built in the 1960s and comprised 14 retail units including The Body Shop.

In 1999 Great Portland bought the Co-op Living Store in Market Square for £2.6million after the loss-making Co-operative Retail Services pulled out.

But it was only this year that Great Portland found tenants for the largest property in Market Square.

But two of them, Brewsters and Poundland, drew strong criticism from neighbouring market traders -- who said Great Portland had brought in even more cut price operators who would take even more sales from the already faltering markets.

Burnley Chamber of Trade secretary Rita Walsh who accepted that while there was concern over the high number of cut-price operators in town, there was little choice, if they were the only retailers willing to come to town to occupy empty shops.

"I believe that on the whole Great Portland has done a very good job in helping revitalise the centre. I am sad they are leaving and we can only hope they are replaced by a company with a similar commitment to improving Burnley," she said.

Town Centre manager Lisa Durkin said that since coming to town, Great Portland had increased the amount of retail space it controlled from 250,000 sq ft to 460,000 sq ft. The company has a very good record of improvement and we can only hope that whoever follows them will shows the same commitment to further improve it in future," she added.

Earlier this year a nationwide survey of more than 1,100 shopping centres put Burnley in 149th place -- leapfrogging Blackburn Centre, with an 18 per cent rise in its rating as an attractive vibrant centre.

Burnley MP Peter Pike described news that Great Portland aimed to pull out as "surprising", adding: "Great Portland has made great improvements to the centre and I am sorry to see it go."