Action ‘needed now to stop town centre sliding into the abyss’
AVETERAN Conservative politician warned that urgent action is needed to stop a town centre ‘slipping into the abyss’.
Coun Peter Britcliffe told Hyndburn council that the middle of Accrington could not wait for a hoped-for injection of millions of pounds of government cash.
He highlighted the weed-ridden state of plants in the Market Square as an example of why steps to improve the area were needed now.
The St Andrew’s ward borough and Oswaldtwistle county councillor was speaking as Hyndburn full council debated the six-month extension of a 52.5 per cent cut in rents for traders in Accrington Market Hall.
Coun Britcliffe told the meeting on July 1 at Accrington Town Hall that he was hopeful the borough would win its £20million bid for High Street funding from the government.
He said: “We cannot wait for that money.
“It is important that the council acts now to stop Accrington town centre slipping into the abyss. We cannot allow it to slip further than it has slipped.
“As I was coming in this evening I saw eight wooden boxes of flowers full of weeds which is not what people want to see.
“Accrington is too important to the borough and the townships to slip any further down the ladder.”
Council leader Coun Miles Parkinson said the authority was doing all it could to maintain the town centres despite the Coronavirus pandemic and was hopeful of winning its High Street Fund bid.
He added: “We do not have the same money as when we had a Labour government and you were leader of the council Peter and we could afford flowers in many places.”
Coun Britcliffe and Conservative group leader Coun Marlene Haworth said they were ‘absolutely delighted’ that the Labour administration had extended the rent cut for market stallholders in response to their motion calling for such a move.
Coun Haworth said: “This shows that the leadership is listening to us and that we are not, in the words of one Labour councillor, ‘as thick as bricks.’