TOWN CENTRE SPECIAL

YOU inundated us with your views following Hyndburn council’s release of artist’s impressions and consultation into £2m plans for a new town square in Accrington.

Under the ‘preferred option’ the two large horse chestnut trees in front of the Market Hall would be felled to open up the area and will include First World War-themed benches, tram seats and sculptures or statues evoking the borough’s history.

Work is set to begin on the Heritage Lottery-funded scheme in May 2017 and will be officially opened on November 11, 2018 – the centenary anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The council has said they have had ‘very encouraging’ feedback from residents about its public realm plans – although the message from our readers is rather more mixed.

Here is a selection of what readers have been saying about the development on Facebook following our articles on September 30 and October 7.

Steven Lee Hacking: Sorry to say this but Accrington is a small village surrounded by large towns such as Burnley, Blackburn and Preston. It will never compete. Personally I would extend the market into the square and make it a proper market town. Get an Xmas market going and get out and start making it attractive. I think this would work – take a look a Skipton on a Saturday.

Ken Moss: There have been loads of events in the past two years which would have benefited immensely from a town square, the food festivals and Christmas events being just two examples.

I’d just like to know how the commenters think that public money should be spent improving shops which are in private ownership and how that is that fair?

Tom Wheatcroft: Another waste of money! Let’s go to Accrington, where the bus station is miles away from the “square” to look at the “square” because we can’t shop there, there’s no shops! The council really are a funny bunch. Joanne Fairweather: I’m a trader in Accrington Market Hall and love Accrington and the people but we really need to get more people into the town ie new market traders and all the empty shops need to be filled and the town tidying up. Support the town and things may improve. Accrington deserves a chance to bring our town back to glory. Casee Malakian Leigh: We need shops, not a square.

Josh Blayne Allen: I personally think Accrington needs this town square, but the design is poor and definitely not worth £2million. It looks like they have not considered anything about the town, even the Pals tribute is poor, modern benches in a old fashioned designed square. It just doesn’t work. Once again much needed investment into the town spent in the wrong way. Ann Wilkinson: What does Hyndburn Council have against trees. If anyone objects to a plan which involves cutting down trees then surprise, surprise they are ‘in the wrong place’. How convenient! Still, never mind, when there are none left we can all breathe err.... Dennis Haslam: The pedestrianisation of Broadway and closing down the through traffic in front of the Town Hall was a big factor in driving away traffic from the town centre. Once the traffic through town stopped, the businesses started to suffer. I don’t see how this is going to help anything. Daniel Blake Monaghan: 2 mill for that? All it looks like they’ve done is removed a plant pot and changed the floor.

Corinne Riley: I am a driver. But at the weekend I got on the bus to get to Blackburn just to see what the new bus station was like. I have lived in Accrington all my life and found it daunting. It felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Peter Nixon: Looks good. You can please some of the people all the time and all of them some of the time.

Susan Case: Don’t cut the trees down, look what happened in front of the old M&S. Don’t modernise as it will look grubby soon as people have little respect, replace with cobbles and stone please! Andrew Law-Riding: Is this going to be built with the mulched up books from all the libraries they’re closing? Seriously how can £2m expenditure be justified on this when such vital community resources are being closed?

JoJo Hudson: Looks great but won’t improve Accy or attract any custom! How many people are going to come look at a square with hardly any shops? Stupid idea Sarah Greenwood: Damn, we could have applied for an EU grant and got the town centre on its feet again. But Brexit leaves only one option: an empty treeless square.

Marian Welch: I can’t see any seating areas or flower beds. Is this to deter folk from lingering or to save the council money. It looks bare and unattractive. Can’t see where all the money

is going and how are they going to stop traffic going through because I see cars and taxis using it as a short cut?

Pamela McCullagh: I think it looks great! Accy won’t improve overnight. But investment into making it look more pleasant will bring in more investment.

John Mitchell: Just hope the street drinkers keep away and stop congregating outside the town hall supping strong ale all day long and get a job. Ian Turbocharged Barber: Move the market to the square (with the put up and take down) stalls like they used to have.

Sam Harwood: Fab but it needs businesses brought back to Accrington. Alexander Baldwin: I think it’s a pointless exercise if the town’s dying. It’s like giving a scrap car a respray. Donna Lawrenson: So what events are being planned? Would like to know so I can see why the new square is required. Katrina Louise Spencer: It looks nice but that’s not what Accrington needs. It needs shops that are going to bring people into Accrington to shop, not to come and look at a square.

Natalie Pratt: Parking and a cut through for cars would be a much better idea. Victoria Louise Hutch

inson: What exactly is the point of the square, should money not be spent on trying to get shops back into the town centre, enticing the people of Accrington back into shopping in the town, instead of constantly getting on buses/trains to Blackburn, Manchester, Preston etc? Spending all this money seems a waste, especially when there just isn’t the footfall through Accrington anymore.