The town centre began to decline when half the market stalls started selling cheap cruddy clothes. This was followed by the white elephants known as the Arndale, the ring road, the new market hall, the new market stall area and the advent of charity/pound shops. The final nail was to encourage the ne'er do'wells by giving planning permission for the Maundy drunk tanks whilst removing benches to discourage them congregating and alienating the rest of the purchasing public. (Used to park my backside on them for a quick fag while the wife nipped into the market hall to buy me my weekly sweet rations)
Parking on the Arndale at weekends is a nightmare, yeah it's free but so are the Trafford Centre, Freeport, Reebok, Deepdale and Cheshire Oaks.
The market hall is now an unmitigated disaster.
The rebuilt market is so tight and squashed, that you can no longer browse without being hit by a pram, walking stick or a staggering drunk.
Accrington town centre is unattractive, unappealing and looks run down, dirty and derelict.
I'm obviously in the minority on this forum, but, in reality, I think I'm part of the majority of locals who find it simpler and more appealing to shop at Tesco, Asda or Morrisons for food (including my weekly sweet rations
) and wander off to the retail parks or the internet for white goods.
I hope Peel Holdings do take legal action, I want a vibrant local retail park, which, at the moment, Whitebirk most definitely is not. The town centre for me has already passed the point of no return, even Great Harwood and Darwen are superior for the diversity and quality of shops. Accrington's is mainly used by the 17-20 year olds to get lashed on a weekend and the maundy dregs of society.
I also don't hold with the agrument that local retail parks are only available to drivers, I remember the 70's when free buses were put on to Asda in Rawtenstall. Nothing stopping HBC from negotiating with Peel Holdings and doing similar.
And as for the small local trader argument, if your products are up to scratch and value for money, it doesn't really matter where you are situated, the local word of mouth will ensure you stay in business. e.g. bought myself a couple of t shirts based on information from this forum