An MSP is calling for the East Kilbride Task Force set up nearly 10 years ago to revitalise the town to be reshaped to help meet new challenges.
Collette Stevenson said to wind-up the group, which has been aiming to promote EK as a centre of excellence in sustainability, would be an "admission of failure".
The multi-agency task force was created to tackle the difficulties facing the town in the wake of the announcement in 2012 that Rolls-Royce was closing their doors.
But with Covid hitting communities up and down the country, East Kilbride faces new challenges including the loss of leading retailers from the town centre.
At a recent task force meeting, several possible options were discussed.
The first was to wind up the task force and not replace it with any equivalent local mechanism. The second was to wind up the task force and introduce a new mechanism, and the third option was to repurpose and renew the existing task force.
MSP Collette Stevenson wants to see the third option go ahead - although no final decision has been taken.
"To wind up the task force would be an admission of failure and to not replace it despite the many challenges the town now faces would be detrimental to the town’s future success," she told Lanarkshire Live.
"The wider region requires a thriving East Kilbride, and for that to happen there needs to be action to address the particular challenges we face.
"The council is finalising plans for the future of the ageing Civic Centre site.
"Our town centre has lost a significant number of retailers over the past few years and needs action to reverse its decline.
"Centre One tax office will close by 2026, and the decline of the manufacturing sector continues.
"For all of those issues to affect a town the size of East Kilbride deserves recognition that specific action should be taken to turn those challenges into opportunities for the future."
She added: "In my mind it makes sense to make new objectives, draw up a new remit and introduce clear and focused operating protocols.
"We should acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of how the task force has functioned to date, addressing head-on where improvements can be made.
"For East Kilbride to succeed, I believe the task force must have the agreement and commitment of all partners, working constructively for the good of the town. Every resource available should be at its disposal.
"Finally, we should be consulting with those who live and work in the town and be seeking their views on what they want the future of the town to look like."
Chairman of East Kilbride Task Force Craig Smith added: "We were set up nearly a decade ago in direct response to some particular challenges in terms of long-established businesses and employers leaving the town.
"Since then East Kilbride has responded to other economic challenges, and along with the rest of the world has in the last 18 months had to deal with the unprecedented and unforeseeable consequences of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.
"Throughout the years the task force was always firm in the belief that East Kilbride was resilient enough not only to meet those challenges but also had the talented people and other resources to seek out and take advantage of opportunities for the future.
"I still firmly believe that and I know that other task force members are of the same view, and we are determined to do all we can to support this town’s recovery. We have already made some progress in our aim to position East Kilbride as a centre of excellence in sustainability, but there is much, much more to be done."
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