A COMPULSORY purchase order for Rawtenstall’s ill-fated Valley Centre could take until the end of 2012 to become a reality, councillors have been warned.

Some progress has been made on the empty shopping complex, according to the borough council’s business direct-or Stuart Sugarman, with a new ‘wrap’ depicting old town centre scenes now being installed across the building and anti-pigeon measures in force.

And he claims that up to 10 developers have expressed an interest in acquiring the property from current owners Ashcap Properties and reviving its fortunes.

But Mr Sugarman told a full council meeting that it could be another 18 months before work to complete a compulsory purchase order finally took effect.

“It seems like a long way off but there is a long and complicated process that we have to follow to get the ball rolling, but we are doing a lot of things at the same time,” he said.

“I have met with just under 10 separate large developers in the region who have all expressed interest in the site, and its viability depends on the land which we could put into the pot.

"A lot of that land is in the council’s gift, though.”

Council leader Coun Tony Swain has previously indicated that demolition would be the preferred option for the centre, which now only has one unit, the post office, still operational.

Town hall leaders had also wanted the site to be considered as a location for the town’s new bus station, instead of two alternative schemes draf-ted for its existing location in Bacup Road.

However the bus station proposals, which campaigners have been waiting more than 25 years for, are currently mothballed ahead of the government’s autumn spending review.

Coun Alan Neal said: “If you go around some of the old shopping complexes in the North West, instead of dropping them, they have put new frontages on and tidied them up, and brought businesses back into the community.”

Coun Bill Challinor, who is regeneration portfolio holder for Rossendale Council, welcomed the new hoardings.

He said: “There is no doubt that these photographs have helped to smarten up the shop frontages in the Valley Centre.

“The owners of the Valley Centre have also carried out general cleaning and painting, removed the canopies which were attracting pigeons and secured the windows on the site.

“The long term goal is still to see the Valley Centre redeveloped as quickly as possible.”

Liberal Democrats in the Valley have repeated calls for empty council-owned properties in Kay Street to be cleaned up, to set an example to others.