[Acrylic-bob]

Whitebirk, as a retail destination, is pretty uninspired and uninspiring. Something clearly needs to be done about it.Whenever I go past the place all I notice is car showrooms. For one thing the links to Accrington Town Centre really do need looking at. If the Council are serious in their intent to develop the site in competition with Blackburn's Greenbank site then the proposal needs to be given the go-ahead. From their obvious determination to develop the site it would appear that Peel holdings anticipate generating a significant increase in income as a result of the proposal. Consequently, the chicken feed offer of £700K to improve Accrington Town centre and links to it should be doubled, at the very least. The council should also take this as an opportunity to insist that Peel construct something a little more substantial than the usual agglomeration of identikit tin sheds.

The route from Accrington to Whitebirk via Church, Dunkenhalgh and Rishton should also be designated as a retail corridor with enhanced planning, transport and access status; something which could be of benefit not just to Accrington but to two of its "and District" townships too.

Though I hate to use the phrases, what is needed is some "Blue-Sky", "Out-of-the-Box" thinking on this issue. If we look at this as an opportunity rather than an irksome imposition we might get somewhere.

The Council could also insist on Peel Holdings' assistance in the redevelopment of Accrington Town Centre. We have what they want, they have more than enough money and experience to be able to change Accrington and District for the better. If the council go about this in the right way the future could look a good deal rosier than it does at the moment.