Get on yer bike!
 

Our unelected Lords and Masters at East Lancashire Partnerships together with Lancashire County Council have decided that we are all dropping off the perch far too early and this is having a disastrous effect on tax revenues. Perplexed as to the solution to this problem they decided to spend several million pounds in consultancy fees and feasability studies and outreach surveys and specially important weekend conferences in posh foreign hotels and came to the conclusion that the best way to keep us working, and thus earning and paying tax, was to get us to keep fitter.

They have decided that we all need to spend less time sitting down recovering from the exertions of the day and get on our bikes and spend more of our "free" time cycling ourselves around our green and pleasant land. To this end they have decreed that a county wide green cycle lane should be built so that we can cycle in a largely risk free monitored environment. How Nice!

The latest phase of this project is undergoing construction behind Scaitcliffe Palace.

http://static.flickr.com/39/86834508_fce0398ae9.jpg?v=0


The lodge has been drained and a roadway is being constructed between the old Manchester railway bridge pillars, it joins the remains of the railway track which runs from Baxenden and comes out in front of Scaitcliffe Palace.

This Lodge will also be the scene of a major redevelopment effort, as detailed in the current issue of the Observer.

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The new development will have residential accomodation, fair enough, but more proposed retail space as well?

It might be a good idea to try and let some of the old and new empty shops in the town centre first, before building more.

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I see them bridge supports the other day and noticed they had been painted, I wondered why they had done it, now I know

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LCC and ELP have now shown that they have totaly lost the plot. Please send for the men with the white coats needles and vans.

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hang on i thought they wanted us to drop dead so that they dont have to pay out pensions or is it a case of they want us breathing and paying taxes but once we reach pension age it would be appreciated if we would kindly drop dead :confused:

cycle lanes..?

if your scared of traffic get off the road and use the pavement i have cycled for years yet i seriously think cyclist are getting pampered way too much with all these stupid modifications made to the roads especialy since cyclists dont pay road tax

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Maybe they hope on the day before we are 65 we have a fatal heart attack or get hit by a lorry. They win both ways then dont they as its paid in but not paid out.

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I thought residential development was frozen in Hyndburn for the next five years as we had already built our quota of housing, or does this not apply to Barnfield construction?

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Barnfield Construction are partners in Globe Enterprises - want to know who the other 'partner' is?

Hyndburn Borough Council

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Its a 3rd 3rd 3rd with HBC, Barnfield and philanthropic individual Stuart Nevison. For the Council 2 Tories and 1 Labour (myself for my sins) sit on the board assisted by HBC senior officers (as they are not allowed - in theory - to make spending decisions with public money). As a member of GEL I can't say anything as it is a private business (subject to company law) but it has been a 10 year success story. I just wonder when our share will be sold off for election purposes?

As for Scaitcliffe lodge. I think the quotas have been relaxed in terms of ELEVATE's Housing Market Renewal programme area so as not to prevent regeneration in those areas. In any case the scheme proposes 3,000 less houses than there is currently so there is a net gain in the programme anyway.

Scaitcliffe Lodge development is upmarket flats with some retail. Backed by two private individuals, I don't think GEL are in the business of making uncommercial decisions.

The Cycleway is a very good idea (backed with outside public monies) even if it takes a few years to network nationwide. I just wish we had put more thought into the section from the Lodge down to Church.

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Looks more suitable for mud wallow for pigs and elephants.

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Its a 3rd 3rd 3rd with HBC, Barnfield and philanthropic individual Stuart Nevison.
Is`nt he the head of Barnfield Construction?

As a member of GEL I can't say anything as it is a private business (subject to company law)
Is it a private business or a limited company, in which case company details are avalible from Companies House. So are you a "member", director, shareholder or what?

As for Scaitcliffe lodge. I think the quotas have been relaxed in terms of ELEVATE's Housing Market Renewal programme area so as not to prevent regeneration in those areas. In any case the scheme proposes 3,000 less houses than there is currently so there is a net gain in the programme anyway.
Does this mean that anyone can aquire land for residential development as long as it`s in Elevates regeneration area or just the council? This answer seems deliberatly vague

Scaitcliffe Lodge development is upmarket flats with some retail. Backed by two private individuals, I don't think GEL are in the business of making uncommercial decisions.
I`m sure they are not especially with the council as a partner giving the green light to planning applications.

The Cycleway is a very good idea (backed with outside public monies) even if it takes a few years to network nationwide.
It is networked nationwide and has been for a number of years, over 10000 miles of cycleways thanks to Sustrans and it`s supporters

I just wish we had put more thought into the section from the Lodge down to Church.
The only thing wrong with the section to Church is that it has never been maintained leading to the run down state it is currently in

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Cycle paths bring tourists, you don't think they'd do it just for you do you. The red paint is so cyclists don't ride into the pillers, it would be far to expensive to remove them wouldn't it. They didn't built things mickey mouse with crap materials back then.

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Interesting point there Willow. There does seem to be a disinct diminution in the availability of open water. The borough seems to make very little of the river and the brooks which flow through the town and HBC's incompetance when it comes to public fountains is legendary. As you say. water can be attractive and impressive if properly used AND MAINTAINED.

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I don't know who maintains the lodge at Foxhill Bank Nature Reserve, most of the path maintenance seems to be done by the Friend's organization.

I do know the litter bins haven't been emptied in six months.

The whole new development, including more bloody shops when we have such a glut of them already empty, smells a bit fishy, but perhaps that's just the lodge drying out.

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Suprised that the council aint selling the lodge mud as a healthy body pack to raise some cash. It will be sold to housing developers at some point no doubt if this scheme fails.

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I couldn't have put it better myself chav1.

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I would quite willingly pay to use the roads providing I get to thump the minority of stupid drivers who think its fun to drive very close to cyclist or blast their horns at us just for fun. :( Its these kind of idiots that make the hostile air between cyclists and careful thoughtful drivers. There is only so much bouncing onto pavements that can be done if they are too close. Alls it takes is a small miscalculation and i am under the twerps wheels!!!

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I think you've lost the chance of something that could have been really nice, the bridge could have been rebuilt over the water with high barriers, turn it in to something nice, instead you get more flats, houses and shops.

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I do believe that Hyndburn did once have more than it's fair share of open water sites....The only ones that now appear remaining are Foxhill Bank, Hagg Lodge & the Canal. Yet the most successful urban regeneration schemes in the country - Salford Quays, Albert Dock, Newcastle Riverside & London Docklands have all been based around the successful and imaginative development of water assets. What a shame that those idiots at HBC could not have followed suit.

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Perhaps I dreamt it but didn't someone once say the canal/Commercial hotel at Church couldn't be developed into residential accomodation because of it's proximity to Blythes?

If so how was planning permision granted for the new housing estate, just across the road on the site of the old reservoir?

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...because it is more than 500yds from the main production facility. Or at least that is what I heard.

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Ok thanks.

Let's hope the wind's in the right direction in the result of an accident.;)

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It could have been Accy's answer to the Everglades.

Instead of alligators, we could have safely looked down on all the terrapins that were released after the Muntant Ninja turtles craze had died.

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This link is interesting reading "Church Canal Gateway"
http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/your%5F...easibility.pdf

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I would say that, on the whole, it was a good idea....but then this is HBC we are talking about and I am sorry but I will not believe one word of it until I see it. Moreover, the longer the buildings lie derelict, the less chance they have of being regenerated or restored. I may be wrong and too cynical for my own good. If that proves to be the case then I will be the first to say so - but I would caution against holding your breath in anticipation.

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The usual bureaucratic pipedream, with some nice pretty piccys.. I notice they failed to include the British Waterways Board while producing their report. Odd that, considering they have more experiance of waterside regeneration than the rest of 'em put togeather. And they do, of course, own the canal.

The trouble with this study as with many others, is it simply does not mention costs and funding. At the very least, should all the components of this outline scheme go ahead, then I doubt if there would be much change from £10m. Where is the money coming from? The private sector? The public sector? A partnership? And of course, what have the current owners of the buildings got to say? There is no mention of them.

At this stage, this is no more than a little exercise undertaken to justify the jobs of the people who wrote it. I do like the boats on page 8, though....welcome to Church,the Lancashire Riviera!

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Regeneration is good, particularly new residential accomodation. I do still think it's madness to grant plans for more retail space, whilst there are empty shops where the old outdoor market was, as well as other empty shops throughout the town centre.

I hope selling off the Market Hall doesn't produce the same effect as the many changes of hands as had on the Victorian arcade, a lot of which is empty, or on very short leases.

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Even my arthritic daubs look good when you miniaturise them.

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Anyone want to invest a few bob :)
http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/your%5F...anal%202_1.pdf

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Thought thats why council tax is paid.

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At least the proposed development isn't some sort of retro toy-land architecture, echoing the new development on Broadway.

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I do like the reference to the 'Blast Zone'.....that will surely appeal to any prospective developer. Sounds more like Baghdad than Church.

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>>Stuart Nevison. Is`nt he the head of Barnfield Construction?

No, thats the other shareholder.

>>Does this mean that anyone can aquire land for residential development as long as it`s in Elevates regeneration area or just the council? This answer seems deliberatly vague.

Partnerships with private developers is a key objective. At the moment the no one wants to invest in the identified areas and that is exactly the problem.

>>I`m sure they are not especially with the council as a partner giving the green light to planning applications.

The areas concerned go through 2 years of planning and consultation which means objections to a planning application shouldn't happen.

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Thats a very impressive scheme, it would take years, and a lot of money but would be well worth doing, it would tidy the area, make use of some beautiful buildings that are delelict, unused and falling more and more in to a state of disrepair, promote civic pride, and promote the town, bringing tourists from the canal traffic and other areas.

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Dear Mad as we call you, better not put your other nickname we call you in the chatroom, I bet the politicans would love you lived in Hyndburn, you see such noble motives everywhere you look.

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My name is mad or hatter thanks. I see both motives rindy, good and bad, I see why they're doing it and what they'll get out of it but I also see what we'll get out of it, the general public, and you as residents of the area. That project has great tourism potential. The canal is a great scource of tourist traffic. but then thats a different subject.

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No one is saying regeneration isn't a good thing.

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For regeneration to work Joe public needs to be behind it. There will always be some objections but if the middle ground can be reached then its better for all. Accy has a history that should be made to work for the town not against it in a way that isolates the public. It comes down to making the best of what we have and selling it as such.

Yes there has been disasters but there must also be some successes like the Globe centre for instance. The transport infrastructure is there to get the people in its just finding the balance to achieve the goals required to bring money into the town and keep it comming. A project or projects is needed to do this providing mistakes of the past are learned from and not repeated a good example being the market and Broadway farces. If Stanley get promotion to the league they will bring a larger away support from the clubs they face into the town and they will want to spend money.

If the redevelopment goes right these people will spend whenever they visit but if it goes wrong then the pulling power of Stanley will be lost along with the money that goes with it. It might take 10 years to achieve but the longer we wait the harder it will be to pull punters into the town. The council both local and county need to get their acts together and come up with a vision. Stanley is an ideal starting point as when people ask me where I am from they all seem to know Accrington Stanley which makes me feel proud.

Its this pride that can be used to aid the town if its in the right direction and is nurtured like a new born baby with plenty of love and care. If we dont do something we will be labeled as another northern industrial town that is dying a slow painful death which for one I do not want to see happen. We need to start seeing Accrington in a positive light that we can hold are hands on our hearts and say "we are from Accrington and we are proud of our little town" well hopefully anyway. What we need is someone who is willing to champion Accy and look at its past present and future and make it a beacon of what an old industrial town can become with a bit off effort commitment and commen sense.

Appologies for the size but need to get it of my chest.

LETS HAVE PRIDE IN ACCY!!!

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well unless you do, It will go the same way as many other towns, your football team is a part of the town, on it's own it won't work but as part of a vision it could play an important role. you need lots of different things to take a town into the future, a possitive outlook, and pride in your town are good starters. You need things to make people want to come but once they're there you need to make people feel that they want to stay.
Accy can do it.

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Do you want a Panoptican?:D

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Nice to see a positive approach, let’s hope it’s catching……..:)

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Well rindy, some would say it's a tourist attraction in it's own right, and yes I think it is, but is it the right thing to stick on top of a hill. Does it suit the area where it's going, I don't think so. I think they could find something thats a lot better and more fitting. Net they'll want to stick the old clock on top of a hill in a glass case.

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How about a few councilers up there in stocks or a pillory? People would pay just to see them suffer this indignity.

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Are they going to have a cycle path upto this thing?

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Off thread I know, but I LOVE the Anthony Gormley figures on Crosby beach near Liverpool. He's the artist who sculpted did the Angel of the North.

They are life sized figures stood in in the sand. They get covered with the sea when the tides in, and then are fully revealed when it's out. Public art at it's very best.

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He did indeed rindy, I have been able to get to see them yet. hopefully I'll get before they go, as they aren't going to be permanent. I like some of the sculptures at blackpool, have you seen those? There is a web site about them

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I haven't seen the statues in Blackpool. I'll go and do a search and have a shufty. Thanks.:)

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Why dont they just technically redistribute Blackpool Tower to Accy that will bring in the tourists.:eek:

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New brightons tower was bigger than blackpools, thats off thread too, but if a new one was built on top of that hill.

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HBC proberly wish they had a tenth of the visitors.

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I went to see the Anthony Gormley figures late last year with some colleagues from work and then went back three days later to take my family because I loved them so much. What I especially love is how people interact with them, the kids for instance thought they were great and dressed one up with scarves, hats etc.

When I went on the work trip we met up with one of the regeneration officers from Merseyside and she said that they loved it when people interacted with them in that way - quite often they have nappies put on them or football scarves and that's the great thing about them. I agree, public art at its very best because it inspires whilst still being something to relate to and look at.

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Ps.... did you notice the guy's feet? All the figures were moulded from Anthony Gormley himself - not sure quite how they cast them but they are supposedly him in all his anatomical glory. Anyway, I looked down (past the obvious) and thought 'mmmm, strange feet'.

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The clever thing is how the feet are always on top of the sand, as if they are stood there.

They're constructed on massive spreading suckers so when the sand shifts so do they, and they don't get buried.

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Alot of the ones at blackpool you can interact with, which i think is great, and inspired me to think up ways of making my christmas light display interactive. The projector that changes pictures automatically, shone not at the wall but at the floor, worked just as planned, teens thought it was wicked, even lying on it to have photo's took at 1 in the morning. all ages found it fascinating, walked on the pictures and tried to see where it was coming from. three flats up, on the corner of the roof, it wasn't immediately obvious where it was coming from.
The point being that it doesn't need to be someonr famous or highly skilled to create something of interest, or need a fancy group to achieve it.