[Gayle]

My view is that these large out of town places exist anyway - Bolton, Preston, Manchester, etc and people do travel to them. So we are currently losing out on that investment. With that argument it makes sense to have one built in Hyndburn like Park says so that we get some of the extra employment and business.

However, it could be the final nail in Accrington's coffin if it isn't done properly. I would like to see some provisos that there is a significant portion of investment from these companies in the town centre as well. We can't just agree to the retail park without ensuring that we have a long term plan for the town centres. As far as I can see that's where we're lacking. The two can sit side by side if done properly. As I've said in other threads, lots of small towns have survived retail parks by becoming more quirky or individual.