[Ken Moss]

Where do you get your ideas, Guiness? Seriously?

An out of town shopping centre along the canal at Rishton? Where and when have I said that? There is a world of difference between holistic thinking on new developments along the canal and a shopping centre.

And it still amazes me how much people talk down Accrington and then wonder why big businesses won't come here in droves. I love Accy, I shop there every week and I can get pretty much any service I need, it has never let me down. Over the past 12 months I have had repairs to my Hoover, my amplifier and my phone, found some wonderfully cheap and high quality foodstuffs on the markets and countless other things that I have been able to find easily when I have needed them. The only negative point would be a lack of clothes shops but Clare Pritchard works her socks off for that town centre and it is improving all the time.

As a member of the local authority, my feeling is that local businesses must come first before the profits of development companies. If the retail park at Whitebirk went ahead it would have a serious impact on what is already in place around the whole borough so on the one hand people would be delighted at somewhere new to shop and then up in arms because the council aren't supporting local businesses.

You simply can't have it both ways.