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Originally Posted by Gobsmacked
As an ex-inhabitant of the area may I be permitted a question? Is there an opt-out clause or is the Panopticon a fait acompli apart from finalising the design?
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Yes, there is still an opt out clause. It has to be approved by Cabinet first (I think Cllr Britcliffe has made his views on that very clear) and if it gets that far it would need to be approved by planning permission.
Obviously, right here right now we're not likely to walk away but that is a possibility down the line. We're still getting 75% positive feed back from the public about the project and indeed, Cllr Britcliffe in this week's Observer stated that 'it would be wrong to dismiss the scheme out of hand at this stage because of all the benefits it could bring'.
I hope that it doesn't come to the point when we walk away from Hyndburn. I personally think that would be very sad for the town. Accrington is geographically bang smack in the centre of all the other five Panopticons. The other five would receive all the benefits and then Accrington would be like a big hole in the centre.