Broadway/New railway station

[Atarah]

Hurrah! At last! There are apparently plans "afoot" to modernise Broadway again! Phew! Thank goodness for that! I thought the Council had forgotten all about it! They are apparently wanting to create something which has a focal point i.e. a meeting place for people. They will never be able to beat "the clock on legs" in Peel Street, eh? Seating will be on the agenda. That will be nice again! I say, put it back how it was, but .. there are plans to have kiosks down the centre. (Have you seen the Continental Market thats there from Friday 30th April till Mon 3rd May? - it looks rather well actually, there are quite a few stalls down the length of Broadway and some in front of the Town Hall and Market Hall - very expensive though)

And .. there is talk of a new railway station - which will link up with a new bus station, to be built on land between Union Street and Edgar Street. Thats all well and good, but ... what about the new market which is on Peel Street. The poor stallholders. Surely that will take their trade away. People wont want to be shopping in Peel Street and then having to carry heavy bags all the way to Union Street area. Course they wont! Are they trying to get people to do all their shopping at the ASDA end of town?

I think Mr Adrian Shurmers suggestions of a new bus station on Eastgate sounds a brilliant idea, and I would like to hear more of his ideas. Why cant ordinary people be on the commitee that decides on things that affect our daily lives? I bet those who decide dont even live in Accrington and they probably drive a car, so wont even shop here!

Oh dear, life gets complicated, eh?

Here are a few different views of Broadway from a few years back. The sixth photo is the best, when we had the flower beds.

[simon]

Really good pis Atarah..............Look at those cars

[mez]

atarah all i can say is bring back the flower beds & forms please, lets at least make accrington look nice again.mmmmm

[Len]

The steel work in the flower beds was made us, the company I work for, lol

[lettie]

Good piccies.... Seeing the cinema in the background brings back some memories..

[janet]

Good photo's atarah, seem's like only yesterday since i was walking across the zebra crossing on Broadway.

[ShortStuff]

My mum was the cinema manager when it closed down - brings back memories for me too Lettie!

I think it will be much better if the train & bus stations are together and any place has got to be better than where the bus station is now. I don't think it will put off shoppers if it is a short walkaway from the town centre - the main bus/train station in Blackburn is easily the same distance away from the shops & I for one have shopped til I've dropped & caught the bus back with plently of shopping bags.

[Acrylic-bob]

I agree, it is high time something was done to improve the look of the town and redesigning Broadway will go a long way towards that. Does anyone remember those odd fountains that used to be at either end, they were like inverted cones? Who kept putting blue dye in them? Later on they were filled with earth and used as plant pots.

The positioning of the bus station is a thorny problem. Putting it near the train station makes good sense and gets buses away from the main shopping streets. But I also think that the council should look again at opening up the centre to cars. Closing off the junction between Burnley Road and Broadway has ruined the area for shopping, it turns Broadway into a cul-de-sac. Traders at the time warned that the reduction in cars passing through the town centre would have a devastating effect on business and now it seems that this has come to pass. It has got to be a bad sign when even the charity shops are closing.

[gerry]

Great photos. My son is in Accy at the moment and i am in Australia. I can see how it was 30odd yrs ago when I was there and also how it looks today. I only discovered this site today and am hooked already. Love it!!!!!!

[Darby]

Nice piccys Atarah...brings back a few memories...but I also remember the sunken gardens where Marks & Sparks now stands, and even going across the Alligator (culvert), when I went to the Odeon on Saturday mornings.

Until they get rid of the council offices and the shops below them, Broadway will always look like a dump.

Especially like the last piccy...EVERYTHING FOR A POUND..........OK I'll buy Broadway!!

[Tealeaf]

Those old 60's Council Offices really are a disgrace? Whats their excuse, now that the council have moved up to the Globe centre? Surely the simple solution would be to pull the lot down and maybe create a new "sunken garden" at the back of the town hall....would'nt get much light, mind, but it would still make a little rest area.

DOES ANYONE IN HBC HAVE ANY IMAGINATION?

[Acrylic-bob]

No mate, they make it clear on the application form that the exercise of imagination in any form will be construed as gross industrial misconduct.

[Acrylic-bob]

In fact the only kind of creativity that is allowed takes place in the accounting department.