Bosses at the shopping centre, who have already named a string of top brand stores likely to leave Greenock, detailed a raft of investment proposals — including building a £3 million multi-storey car park.

Peter Langley, of Edinburgh-based Mall managers Rapleys, declared that Jersey-registered centre owners Lunar Greenock SARL want to pump up to a further £10 million into attracting fresh business.

But he insisted that all of that proposed financing — on top of £4 million earmarked for flood mitigation work and replacing the Mall’s floor — will be at risk if the Port project gets the go-head next week.

Mr Langley told the Telegraph: “If this planning permission goes through completely unadulterated we will have to consider our options in terms of just how much we can do.” Councillors are set to consider a £30 million 190,000 sq ft extension to the currently flourishing Port retail park which already boasts a huge B&Q superstore, a Costa Coffee outlet and The Waterwheel pub.

But Mr Langley — who said today that Argos, New Look and Poundland are prime candidates to move to the proposed Port expansion — declared today that Greenock is being ‘ignored’.

He said: “We have told the council that we want to put a multi-storey car park on Hunter Place — that is £3 million worth.

“We do have other plans for improving the offer within the centre — improving the mix and creating units that are better for letting.

“That is on the drawing board.

“It will be market-led but could be between £8 million and £10 million.” Mr Langley added: “There was an expectation that government and local planning policy would be followed and that Greenock town centre would always be thought of first.

“That doesn’t appear to be the case.I think that a level playing field would be the right thing.” The Mall yesterday launched on online campaign using Facebook and Twitter, calling on people to ‘Support a Vibrant Inverclyde’.

Centre manager Claire Jefcoate — who wants the Port expansion halted — is confident that shoppers, tenants and other retailers in nearby West Blackhall Street will flock to support it.

Mr Langley declared that the town centre and Mall are ‘vital community resources’ and cautioned that services provided to local organisations could also be in peril.

He said: “Oak Mall has been the location for quite a number of local organisations — Your Voice, Ardgowan and the ICOD the disability charity.

“If the shopping centre is affected in the future by competition then the possibility is that our offer will diminish. It will be less attractive and the ability to provide the sort of range of services — the amount of space even — might not be available to do so.

“There will be less space, there will be less value, less income to the owner and the options to provide services to the community might well become less.” Inverclyde Council has said it is committed to ensuring the retail sector ‘thrives and grows’ throughout the district.