[Acrylic-bob]

I think that Accrington needs to:

A: Sort out its transport links and bus and train stations. These need to be made as easy to use as is humanly possible, comfortable, clean and friendly.

B: Next someone needs to go through the town centre with a JCB and get rid of traffic signs and bollards which clutter the streets; there are too many of them and they contribute towards making the place look untidy.

C: Someone needs to have a word with the Pound Shops and the Charity Shops and tell them that they are no longer welcome.

D: The council then need to place a ban on change of use planning applications for retail premises from solicitors, accountants, estate agents and employment agencies.

E: The council then needs to start a massive National advertising campaign, to sell Accrington as a haven for independent specialist retailers, offering business rate holidays, free gifts, a big welcome party at the Town Hall and any other inducement they can think of.

Basically, turn the town centre into a place that is attractive to business and help them to get here and the shoppers and tourists will follow.

This took me ten minutes to type, one fag and a cup of tea. It didn't need hundreds of hours in consultations, hundreds of thousands of pounds in consultancy fees and endless weeks and months of municipal handwringing.

If I can come up with this in ten minutes on a frosty monday morning. What the F**k are the paid idiots at HBC doing with their time and our resources????

And if the Idiot-in-Chief needs any more pointers on how to manage the town, drop me a PM, I would be only too happy to assist.