Re: Sunday Trading
 

That is a very cynical view :rolleyes:

Re: Sunday Trading
 

That is entirely my point.

Garinda, I'm not disputing your facts as you've clearly looked into it in a reasonable amount of detail but you can prove anything with statistics if you really want to.

I come back to the Preston scenario and how run-down certain areas had become, someone who remembers it during the late 90s will hopefully back me up. The town centre ended up littered with empty and delapidated shops and took a fair bit of intervention from the council to get it back on track but far from being a failure it totally regenerated the area. Those who said that no one was spending on the high street anymore ended up with egg on their faces and it was shown to have brought people in from far and wide.

Accrington seemingly has a problem if there is a reluctance to invest but squeezing the businesses that are already there rather than having a full compliment of units at a lower rent doesn't make sound business sense to me. You need to adapt to the changing climate to survive, which I have had to do over the past two years. I lowered many of my charges at the onset of recession and as a result have never been busier, despite the economic situation.

Just to put you in the picture about the spare £80 that didn't seem to go down well with you, I am self-employed and work my nuts off seven days a week. It is a lifestyle choice I am very happy with and allows me occasional luxuries that I feel I would be unable to afford if I worked set hours for someone else. I do not believe in credit, loans or overdrafts and as a result I feel comfortable in allowing myself the odd shopping spree every few months so long as all the bills are paid. I would also far rather support local businesses than go to places like the Trafford Centre.

I would also beg you not to accuse me of 'spin'. You make me sound like Alistair Campbell or Max Clifford or someone equally vulgar. :(

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Apart from the Arndale where rents are astronomical it's difficult for any retail business to invest in Accrington at the moment. It's too disjointed.
We would like a bigger shop but which part of town do you move to ? Everythings up in the air at the moment because of Tesco's and the bus station. The whole emphasis of the town will change. I'ts not just the rents that cause the problems but the length of leases. Who wants to commit to 3 or 5 years in one place when you have no idea how things will pan out :confused:

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Maybe they won't be bothered about the number of empty units we have but surely they are in it to make money. Leaving units empty is hardly good business sense:rolleyes:

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Don't worry about the spin.

We're used to politicans, and those seeking to enter politcs, spinning to their own political agendas on here.

Also, don't worry about having an extra eighty quid in your pocket, to fritter on whatever takes your fancy.

It's an enviable position. One I'm sure the many people in Hyndburn, who struggle to pay therir bills, and put food on their table etc, would love to be in, but sadly all the figures point to the fact that many in the area aren't able to do so.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Sadly with owners like the Swiss bank, who deal in billions, their investment is more likely tied up in the long-term increase of property prices, rather than income from rent.

Though I totally agree with you.

If you were a landlord, and no one could afford to rent from you, if you solely relied on the income, you'd cut your rent, rather than have the properties standing empty.

Swiss banks don't need to rely on the rental income of a few retail units in Accy, to put food on their table.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

True, unfortunately. I've just always been a firm believer in hard graft and I'm relieved to say that it has paid off in the end. I still live in a Band A terraced house though, so does that put me in the 'deprived' category I wonder? I'm hardly rolling in it but my wife and I work hard and are firmly of the opinion that if you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

We saw a programme sometime last year with three questions to ask yourself when shopping:

1: Can you really afford it?
2: Do you really want it?
3: Will you still want it next week?

That little tip caused us to start shopping a bit more carefully and as an upshot we discovered that shopping for things with small local businesses is often cheaper than you would imagine.

I will try not to spin my own political agenda on this forum, if that's what it's being seen as. I just feel quite passionately that if we all had more pride in our towns and villages we'd be a stronger society.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

It's nothing to do with pride.

There's no one more passionately proud to have roots in this area, thanks to the many generations of my family who lived and worked here before me, but sadly pride doesn't fill an empty kid's belly.

It's all well and good pontificating about what we'd like to see, but if you're a shopkeeper, and what you're selling is either too expensive for people to buy, or not what they want to buy, then that shopkeeper's children are going to have empty bellies.

Simple free market economics,

Supply and demand.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Again, all very valid points but it still staggers me how many people I come into contact with who moan endlessly about how skint they are and yet stand there chain smoking in either top brand clothes and/or trainers that have cost around £150. You'll forgive me for being a little cynical about the priorities that those members of deprived areas have.

Around half of my working week is spent getting my hands dirty in some fairly unpleasant situations and has taught me to appreciate the money I earn. The current economic climate has hardly left us with a great swathe of job vacancies but if it came down to a choice between an unattractive menial job that paid the bills or struggling to fit in with fashion I would opt for paying the bills every time.

My wife and I eat well and yet our average cost of a home cooked meal is around £3-£4 between us, not including wine which I would class as a luxury. We never go hungry, we have vegetables every day and there is usually enough left for either a second helping or our lunch the following day. I know how it feels to live on a tight budget as I have been there and it isn't very nice but it can be done if you get your priorities right.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Very man of the people, when it comes to understanding living on a limited income.

Are you're sure you'd not be more suited to stand as an 'on yer bike/hang 'em and flog 'em' Conservative candidate, rather than Labour?

Getting back on thread, when it comes to selling your ideas to us, I'll pass thanks.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

If anyone can flaunt luxuries and claim poverty then I'm afraid it's not me whose priorities are wrong. I have been until relatively recently in a position where literally every penny counted and pinning a political flag on a situation doesn't alter the fact for anyone that necessities are, by definition, more important than having the best gear.

If you can make that sound like a bad thing then I salute you.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Personally I think it's wiser not to judge other people period. Especially based on something as superfical as the clothes on their back.

For one thing, those clothes might be copies of designer gear.

Making wild assumptions about how other people live their lives isn't for me, mainly because it's so easy to be wrong.

Never judge a book by it's cover.

;)

Re: Sunday Trading
 

A good point, well made. But the cigarettes.....?

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Again, until people on low incomes have it tattooed on their foreheads, personally I can't tell who can, and who can't, afford to spend their money on whatever they want.

What you will find is that historically, those at the lower end of the income scale, tend to spend a larger percentage of their income on things that help them cope with life, such things as alcohol and tobacco.

Personally I'd never be so condescending to criticise anyone's lifestyle choices, but then again I'm not hoping to win people's confidence, and secure their votes at the ballot box, because if I was I'd fear I'd have shot myself in the foot, by alienating myself from the reality of other people's lives.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

When you've had beans on toast four nights running, you're taking cold showers and a hot water bottle to bed instead of putting the boiler on, walking everywhere to save petrol and drinking nothing but tap water because you're not even sure you can afford milk for your tea before payday then you can come back to me about not understanding what it's like.

Trust me, I have been there and it's awful. I am eternally grateful to my wife and some wonderful neighbours during that time. It's the primary reason why I want to see things improved for those who really are destitute and have absolutely nothing.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

One would have hoped that you would be therefore less judgmental about the plight of others, of whom there are many in this area, who struggle because of their relatively low income.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

By the way, how many 'Yuppies' did you spot shopping in Accy yesterday?

Did you check whether that blazer really was Ralph Lauren, and their Preppy shoes were Gucci loafers, and not fakes?

If they were smoking their Marlboro Lights, I hope they had their bank statements, to prove they could afford to puff their tobacco.

:rolleyes::D

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Precisely, which is why having more community groups is a good idea. There is also a very good NHS helpline to quit smoking which has helped several people I know quit smoking after years of being addicted.

There is no quick fix for many of the problems we are all faced with but you seem obsessed with bringing politics into it. If something is good for a community then it shouldn't matter what particular badge you're wearing and you certainly don't need to be a politician to try and make a difference.

I don't know what school of thought you subscribe to but if attempting to identify flawed systems and trying to improve them is a flaw in itself then I'm glad I'm on my side of the fence.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

There's the harsh reality of the economics of the actual living, breathing, high street, and running a business there, and there's living in Cloud Cuckoo Land, where many of those in power locally reside.

Perhaps you'll fit right in. As long as you haven't alienated anymore of the electorate before then, 4 X 4 drivers, smokers, wearers of designer clothes, etc.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Correct, but if you read what I actually posted you will find that I don't agree with people who flaunt luxuries and cry poverty, not everyone who lives in a deprived area. If you can't even decipher messages written in plain English I hope you're not a politician yourself.

A very good friend of mine was convinced that her rising credit card bill would force her to give up her car so I took a look at her finances for her and managed to whittle out all the unnecessary things which were draining her bank balance. Within 18 months she had settled her three credit cards and her overdraft and was able to step back and see the damage that spending beyond her means had caused.

Sometimes all it takes is a fresh set of eyes on a problem.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

One person's 'luxury', is another persons necessity, to help them cope with the grind of life's daily struggle to survive.

Know and understand your target audience.

The people in archly conservative Virginia Water, in leafy Surrey, might be a more appreciative an audience.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

By the way, I'm not personally knocking your politcal ambitions.

I'm sure nearly everyone would agree being a councillor is a fairly thankless task. Much criticism when you get it wrong, and faint praise when you don't.

You are obviously passionate. Democracy relies on new blood being attracted into politics, so more power to you.

However, if I disagree with someone, I'll continue to give my counter-argument, regardless of who it's against.

I wish you well, and hope the residents of the ward appreciate your passion.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

Reading this thread it appears that all the town centre ills started in 2000, it didn't. early in this thread Rindi mentioned tumble weeds in the town centre, a statement I used around 1994 in a letter to the Observer, when I referred to the then Labour top heavy council was hell bent on selling every asset and plowing the money in the golden cow at the Globe Centre, instead of investing it in the town centre, Labour started the Juggernaut of town centre decline, something which is very hard to reverse

Re: Sunday Trading
 

I certainly didn't mention the year 2000, nor made mention of any ruling political group.

I did say the problems have happened over the last few decades.

Re: Sunday Trading
 

I'll let you off then:D but you did mention tumble weeds:rolleyes:

Re: Sunday Trading
 

As this thread was talking about empty units in the Arndale another may be added to them. Ethel Ausitn are set to close a lot of shops. From what I've seen I don't think the Accrington store is one of their busiest.