Accrington becoming a ghost town?
 

Just read on the observer website about all the empty shops in town... Yet we still develop more empty shops....

Well, someone wants to tell the council that shops are not the be all and end all of a town. If you want good shops, you need good residents. If you want good residents you need good jobs. If want good jobs you need a lot more than just shops. I'm more concerned about the severe lack of anything else in Hyndburn. Factories are closing all around us, industry, traditionally our bread and butter is practicaly gone. Accrington just seems to be getting more shops and more houses, so in 10 years time where is everyone going to work? Will we all have to travel, or are we all going to get jobs at one of the many pound shops? There can only be so many shops supported by our community, and if our community only survives from the shops then our community will indeed die. So, I think right now that Accrington is not a ghost town, but in 10 years time? The way we are going, a most definate yes.

We could always do a marketing exercise.."Accrington - the best little pound shop in England"....maybe aim for the Japanese/American market..somewhere for the coachloads of Yank & Nip tourists to stop off half way between Stratford-on-Avon & Edinburgh. Aim for a hundred coachs a day and we may get a grand or so pumped into to local Accy Economy.

my dad says my best chance in life is to get out of accy and i think he is right there are no more mills or factorys and more houses are being built. what does a mill town do without a factory? nothing. soon accy will be full of residents and corner shops all claiming doal money and the once proud town will turn into burnly

Hello Shaun,

I think your dad may be right. But it's a big bad world out there, and you have to be well prepared to go out into it.

It's hard not to make your experiences only the hard way, but go out there and have a go...you can always come back and start where you left off. Both my sons did and they have done everything their way...made mistakes, and stood right up again and carried on.

A little planning helps a lot though. Talk to your dad about it more, he may provide you with lots of help.

Re: Accrington becoming a ghost town?
 

As someone who was quoted in those articles I agree with what is being said. Quite simply the Council has been poorly run for years and town centre planning has been flawed. Too much over capacity, not enough development of specialist or higher profile and the wrong size of units. Te wrong type of developments with designs that are not sympathetic to what is around. Demolition of historic or non commercial elements and too much emphasis on buildings and not people. Even now our town is only getting by because of the C/C boom.

Worse. Its mostly owned by Pension companies and southern investmnet firms increasing bailing out of stocks and shares into property, sometimes without experience and often without any committment to what they are buying other than short term investment capital. eg. they don't lose as much money on them empty as they would in stocks and shares. And of course letting is not strategic to what is best for Accrington, but simply extra income. Whilst Marks&S might object to a Pound store next door, as may someone trying to develop an up market and complementary retail grouping, the Poundstore and Pension company doesn't really care about who where or the fact that it is our Accy.

The answer is to reduce drastically retail premises. To develop an identity and quality that people will be attracted to. EG the old buildings around Warner St, stop the brick built Milton Keynes drift to the viaduct, encourage differnt and wider uses, residential flats, evening economy, diversity. To avoid down market distractions, amusements pound stores etc.. A new bus station, better marketing, more robust use of the Town Hall for diverse and popular events - RUN BY THE COUNCIL AS A STRATEGIC SERVICE - COMMERCIAL AND WHERE APPROPRIATE SUBSIDISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. More events in the centre that tie into people, culture, celebration blah blah.. New more stringent planning policies on crappy facias, tacky shop fronts, corporate masking of historical stonework. Greater use of upper stories. Aggressive pricing on market stalls to bring back market retailers. Landscaping of Broadway..... oh and dont forget Harwood Ossy Rishton

And it is official we are a ghost town as the 'Ghost Tours' start soon ...

graham jones