[Margaret Pilkington]

Less, the general rot in the fabric of society is not all down to drugs...it is down to the dismantling of family values, the slide in the morals and ethics of society....the lack of people taking responsibility for their actions...always wanting to blame their situation on someone else's actions....blaming governments for everything...expecting government to do the things that many of us are quite capable of doing for ourselves.

The other aspects of local degradation are the inept use of public money for useless projects, the inability of local government to address the important issues.....not making enough (or perhaps) appropriate measures to regenerate the town.

As for contributing....there needs to be some kind of leadership.....some way to encourage and motivate people to join in.
Possibilities for public interaction need to be well publicised and aggressively marketed at the targets the activity wants to attract.

Much was made of the development of a town square.
It was supposed to bring people into town.....but it has no character and is as attractive as a paved wilderness.

I am sorry if this is perceived as negative....it IS negative.
Maybe if those who hold the money,listened to those whose money it is they are spending.
Then maybe...just maybe it could get better.
I think the town has slipped too far down the drain to be rescued.
Make it somewhere to be proud to belong to....invest in infrastructure.

Accrington used to be a proud Lancashire town.
It had people coming in from neighbouring towns to visit what was a vibrant market and town centre.

Yes, yes....I know shopping habits have changed...So the approach to marketing the place needs to change too.