[Gayle]

I don't know where to start on this one.

Once the Panopticon is built it is 'handed' over to the council in who's area it resides. The Blackburn sign is a joke - I can't believe they didn't check the spelling! As for the maintenance - it's terrible that they haven't taken any care of it! It's dirty and needs a good clean. The railings are safe according to the council's health and safety. The railings were actually installed because of the council's health and safety department and I agree, they do detract from the design and style. As for wheelchair access, people in wheelchair's are able to get onto the structure, not just to the highest level of it which is perfectly acceptable and there are other examples where wheelchair users are unable to get to the very highest level.

In its defence - the cannon batteries were in an appalling state of repair and a dog had committed suicide by jumping off one of them - they would have been knocked down for health and safety reasons. The Panopticon repaired them and has allowed them to be kept for a while longer.

As for Burnley, in my opinion it's beautiful, it makes a wonderful eerie noise and judging by the number of people that are always up there it is doing its job.

Hyndburn has missed out big style. The Burnley design has been seen by people far and wide, it is attracting huge good publicity for Burnley and is part of the many regeneration projects going on in the town. It is attracting more money for the town and is having a positive effect.

Now I will agree that the design for Hyndburn wasn't suitable but by rejecting the whole project a whole lot more was rejected. If people had been able to say 'no' to the design but 'yes' to the principle of the thing then we could have worked with everyone to get the design that was appropriate for the town.