Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Last week the shutters came down and I think they have been doing some work inside, dont know when its gonna open yet though no signs

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Was in the Arndale today and noticed that Graingers Games had opened where Sayers bakery used to be.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

bet that dont last 18 months.

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You never know we may have new Town Centre managers in May who actually show some interest in 99.99% of the businesses in town instead of the current 0.1%

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Bet that 0.1 just happens to sell coffee. :D:D:D

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Yeah I noticed the new shop but havnt been in yet, maybe thats why GAME were doing a deal last week on trading in games (30% extra) to keep people out of there!

The card shop has moved to MK One used to be aswell. Looks bigger which is good as it were murder trying to get cards in the other shop when it were busy! ;)

Had a quick look round. Selling cheap Nintendo DS pre-owned unboxed games for just £7.

I thought Graingers was a north east chain of shops.

Sent from my ZTE-BLADE using Tapatalk

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Bit late to look round Phil,yeh aint a burglar are yeh?:D

LOL I meant when I went spotted it in the Arndale on Monday.

I was right it is a Northeast company originated in Newcastle.

Sent from my ZTE-BLADE using Tapatalk

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I have it from a very good surce that Over Coffee in Blackburn Road, will be sadly closing down for good in the very near future.

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Not the Market Hall then:rolleyes:;)

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I guess Throntons might be at risk also following this mornings announcement

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And did I hear it right...are TJHughes in trouble too?

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Yes they are, also Carpetright

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Thats not a shock, been closed fer last few Mondays wi no announcement paper in door/window. shame was ok in yon.

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Sadly another independent closing down in Accrington.

The lovely florist's shop in Warner Street.

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Not sure if I posted it before but there will be another couple of empty shops on Church st soon. The carpet shop is moving to a mill unit and the clothes shop next door is moving to Broadway

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Todays Observer;
Two-way town centre traffic plan on the table | Accrington Observer - menmedia.co.uk

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

What a total contradiction that is, ( even allowing for the fact the Observer doesn't know where the current bus station is :confused: )

The decision has been made to have the new bus station on Crawshaw St. Yet it's up to the people of the town what they prefer. Now apart from my obvious bias I have yet to know of one person who thinks the new bus station should be on Crawshaw St, an issue which has been pointed out many times on this forum :confused:

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I think accy market would fail if the new bus station was way down there, thats just stupid

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Shame Warner Street could be such an nice area to shop in..... however they need to do something with the arcade.... if that was in London or Manchester.... it would be made into a feature.... why can't something be done .... a drop in rents and rates would help.... its a shame to see town and many more of course going to ruin....:(

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I think you're right about the arcade. The arcade is crucial to linking what I see as the two parts of the town centre. It badly needs investment to make that happen.

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It's not just the rents, which are far too expensive but they need to attract a better type of shop.

I heard somebody say today that Store 21 is closing, don't know how much is in that rumour.

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It should be moved Dave. A woman died their several years ago;
Mum killed in horrific bus drama | Accrington Observer - menmedia.co.uk

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So moving the bus station to Crawshaw Street will make it 100% safe will it - you plonker

Since people have also jumped off the top of the Arndale or been run over by a train we should close down the Arndale and stop all the trains

In no way am I minimising the loss of a life but come into the real world rather than being on planet Bee

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Planet Bee:eek::eek::eek::eek:A place to miss me thinks;)

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It goes back to the old saying hedman.......Yeh can't put sense, where there is none.:rolleyes:

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'Cept me of course .. ;)

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They could crochet one.

So no one will get hurt.

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Funny there's no comment from the politicos;)

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On which subject, Jaysay ? Most of the town centre issues have been discussed in the past, that are in this thread, in separate threads and have included the 'politicos' views.

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I forgot there's always a rebel :D

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On any subject really alls quiet on the western front since May, except for the odd brickbat at Britcliffe:rolleyes:

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Ya used to be me dave:D

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why not shift the market onto the pedestrianised broadway ... and then open it up again to what it was before the 'new' bus station was built ...

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Who?

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Because Tesco might ask for their bribe back ;)

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That's a bit strong.

I hope you don't get sued.

I always thought it was a bung.

:rolleyes::D

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Tesco, wind farms.

If only the Panopticon had attached a million pound 'gift' with their proposal, we'd have a lovely art work a' top the Coppice today.

Seems our council's a bit of a whore.

Stick a few notes down it's g-string, and your wishes will be their command.

:rolleyes:

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Ooops I got confused, I meant the voluntary contribution Tesco made to save the council tax payers footing the bill for the planning consent :D

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Every major build anywhere in the country has also got to contribute money to the local council. It's called 106 money (presumably because that's the standard clause in the contract). This has to be (if memory serves me correctly which someone in the council could probably verify for me) 1% of the cost of the build. This money goes to the council and can be used for anything but is most commonly used to 'decorate' (for want of a better word) the area around the new build i.e. tree planting, grass verges, artwork, fixing up nearby buildings, road alterations etc.

It's not just Tesco that has to pay it, it's a condition of any big build up and down the country.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Well we'll just get rid of the apostrophe, change a word to plural, and then it's still true.

'Seems our councils are whores.'

:D

Attaching promises of gifts to planning applications, doesn't mean that they'll necessarily benefit any area in the long-term.

It is akin to dropping your drawers, if the price is right.

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That was my suggestion too.

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By the way, no one's questioning the legality of this practice.

Morally it stinks, and is one of the main reasons why this country will soon be carved up, and shared out by a very small number of supermarket chains.

Offers of money, if a planning application is passed, is a bribe. No matter how it's dressed up.

The money's soon frittered away.

The consequences of passing applications, that wouldn't have been looked on as favourably without a promise of cash, we'll live with for generations.

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think it was justifying the unjustifiable.:D

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Also Dorothy Perkins & Burtons are shutting down in Blackburn;
Blackburn's Burton and Dorothy Perkins stores set to close (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

which is what to do wi accy town centre changes?:rolleyes:

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Well Lindsay mentioned about Evans in Blackburn closing down 7 months ago :p :p. Check this Thread Cashy :tongueout:tongueout:tongueout. Sorry Lindsay if I mentioned about you.

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We need a Model Zone in Accrington, also a Ikea.....Best Buy.....Currys Digital..Toys R Us......and many more!!.

NOT stupid shops like Poundworld!!!!!!!!.

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I'm sure these shops would happily move into Accrington if they thought they would make a profit...the fact that they don't, clearly indicates that they see no good business in the town.
How many town centres do you know that have an Ikea. I bet you can count them on the fingers of one hand(with a lot of fingers left over).
One of the main causes of the decline of town centres is the growth of out of town shopping complexes.

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Isn't IKEA cheap n cheerful too?
Bring back Wardleworths I say - perhaps I could start a campaign...

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I suppose you could say Ikea is cheap and cheerful(it wouldn't necessarily be my description) but my point was, this kind of outlet is not found in main high streets around the country.

I think it highly unlikely that your campaign to bring back Wardleworths would have much success..........people these days buy their books from Amazon....or the charity shops. They went out of business because they could not compete in the market of the time...so there would not be much hope for them in today's economic climate.
I have to say I do miss them though.... Seed and Gabbutts(Blackburn) was another of my book buying haunts too.

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well i for one am happy that there are shops like Poundworld , its a handy shop if i need headache tablets and bits and bobs i forget to take with me on a day out...so BEE, stop chatting bubbles and get your head out of the clouds

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Whoever, whether they were Tesco or an engineering company or a manufacturer would have had to pay 106 money regardless of who they were.

It's not a gift, it's a payment that is expected by law for any major build. They don't pay any more, in fact, I'm pretty sure that Tesco are very astute and would pay the bare minimum.

So, it doesn't make much difference - Tesco would have had to pay it whether they were trying to get a site in Hyndburn or London and any other company would have to pay it if they wanted to build on that site in Hyndburn.

It is supposed to benefit the area around the build i.e. repair anything that has been made ugly by the build - replacing trees etc - or benefitting local businesses in the area.

It's also a standard thing in a lot of countries - I know they do it in Holland and USA, so I'm pretty sure it's standard in Europe. So, I'm fully in support of 106 money, I think every business should support the community and businesses in its wake. Of course, how the Council spends it once it's got it is the important thing.

However, I take your point that Council's should only give planning permission if the building is strategic and I agree with you there. Plans had been drawn up to extend the Arndale and they were in talks with Sainsbury's (I think) to go into the extension. Then Tesco came along and didn't want to go into the Arndale so looked at other sites. Of course, the minute Tesco started getting serious Sainsbury dropped out because it wouldn't have been worth their while and at that point the rest of the plans got shelved because the bigger units wouldn't have got filled.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Let's just hope a company doesn't come along to H.B.C., with an application to build a nuclear waste plant here in Hyndburn.

I bet they'd be prepared to pay a hefty bung, towards a few paving slabs, and some blooms for the flower towers.

As stated, and I don't care where else it's practised, as a system, it stinks.

It interferes with a procedure which should be judged impartially.

The council have publicly admitted to 'a million pound' payement from Tesco, because their application was approved.

Anyone from the council brave enough to post on here, what the actual figure they received was?

:rolleyes:

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Oh i'm well aware of that, i didn't mention that cos though linds n i may disagree on some things, her posts don't bore the arse off me.:tongueout:tongueout

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He's just another knobhead cashy;)

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Would it not be better if Tesco or whoever else was involved used their own money to clean up and make good any mess they had caused during the building, and then the Council used the bung opps sorry the 106 money on something else useful in the community. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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It doesn't interfere with the procedure because it's irrelevant to it. Applications should be judged impartially - as was proven by the waste thing in Huncoat - if that had been built that would have had to pay 106 money and the Council rejected it.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

I think the thinking is that some companies wouldn't do all that stuff and so it's better in the hands of the Council so that they can spend the money wisely.


Sorry, even as I wrote that I know exactly what the response will be. :D

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

:rofl38::rofl38::rofl38:

Forget the acting.

You should be on the stage doing stand-up.

:D

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You line 'em up, I'll knock 'em in the back of the net.

;):D

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

arndale centre for sale at 17 million a bit over priced methinks;)

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Having the premises above the Arcade i can confirm that this is indeed the plan, Inshops who currently own it have decided that there is no longer any retail trade on that side of the town, They have asked me three times if i would take the Taxi rank which is empty underneath are venue, however they are not willing to replace the windows and the whole lot need replacing, The old fancy dress shop main window has no strength in it at all and all the wood has broken.

In shops have the building up for sale and as more and more units have become vacated, they have had an offer on the building and i am ledd to believe that the sale is going through, The main plain is to convert to bars and bistros, however while planning etc goes through they will smarten the Arcade up, what does make me laugh is the Listed Building status and that keeping the building in line with its original features, if you view the roof on the back which we can do from our fire escape all the original glass at the top of the arcade is either plastic, cracked, missing, and the roof is a mess as well.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

not sure if any one remembers the "Thwaites Arcade" in Blackburn , a pure Victorian gem destroyed by the 60s urge to modernize , my own thoughts from a distance... Accrington Arcade should be accquired by HBC through 'emminent domain" and have the same if not more money spent on its preservation/renovation than the debacle of the refurbishment of the Market Hall
just my thoughts

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

I'd say they have more than contributed to that by their extortionate rents

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I have been saying this all the time

- Close Poundland & "Cash Converters" and put a great shop there.....a Model Zone.

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Well considering you could buy Scotland for half that price, I think its a snip:D:D

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Lots of people on here are very good at saying what should and shouldn't be in the town centre. How about putting your money where your mouth is and opening a 'Model Zone' . Retailing is easy, short hours & fantastic riches you could never dream of ;)

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Exactly what you were telling me last week Dave, its great playing Monopoly but real life's a bit different

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So, your thing at the moment is models,
why, if there is a demand for such a shop have the two model shops that used to be in Accrington closed down?

Surely if someone thought it lucrative to open a model shop there are plenty of empty shops they could move into without forcing other businessess out of town?

There is a shop opposite the Broadway Hotel that sells RC models if you have a wish to poke your nose against the glass an drool.

Somehow I suspect window shopping is all you would be able to do.
:(

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Monopoly is for part-timers, Russian Roulette for us big retailers :D

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Don't know when it happened but just noticed the curtain place across from the end of Broadway has closed down.

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if yeh mean the one next to the bank? about 1 month ago.;) we were passing as it was being emptied, she said they have a shop up rossendale valley n thats still open.

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They have a shop in Rawtenstall and Todmorden, they make all the curtains up in the old Riley Street Club at Lineholme Todmorden.
Micheal, the owner, told me a few weeks ago he was closing the Accrington shop down because the landlord was getting too greedy and wanted more rent.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Thats probably about 70% of the answer to the town centre problems. What will they do when it lies empty for months, rent it out to a charity for a very low or free rent.:mad:

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They'll probably just demolish all the empty shops, and extend the Tesco car park.

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Accy Ob -
£17m Arndale Centre back on the market | Accrington Observer - menmedia.co.uk

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Heard a whisper "Daves" weighing it up.:D

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Which one we have a few:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :D

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It'll be that there "Dingle Dave" ;)

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Thanks for clearing that up:D:D

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Also a new discount store (do we REALLY need loads??) has opened in Accrington Arndale where Adams Clothing used to be.

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Well look at it this way- its better than n empty unit.

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Yes , times are hard for us who can't afford to go gallivanting to faraway places like the land of the rising sun .

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If I put the same post on two threads they'd be deleted

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You couldn't remember the same post long enough to put it in two places.
:D

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I write um on mi hand:p:p:p

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I like the Tesco carpark as it is, no more getting wet when shopping on rainy days.

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Reported in the press yesterday.

It is believed travel firm Expedia is moving it's call centre to Bangalore in India.

Accrington firm announces 250 job losses (From Lancashire Telegraph)

:(

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

How sad, I never realised Expedia was in Accy, I've used them to arrange travel quite a lot over the last few years.
I don't understand the logic-except of course that an Indian workforce in India will cost less - whenever you get through to one of these call centers you can't understand what they're saying.:confused:

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Now opened up again as a flower and card shop

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ANOTHER card shop?

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Yes, another card shop, this one specialises in Sympathy & well wishing cards,

Sorry to hear your shop is about to close.

Our sympathy on hearing about your redundancy.

Look Who's a Job seeker at 60?

(This one can obviously have the age changed to suit the unfortunate recipient).

Well done, on passing your exams, now you can start your gap life.

(This one comes with a phone number for a debt management company just above the bar code).

Congratulations On receiving your temporary loan from Wonga.

:alright:

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Has been let, and is soon to open as a hairdressers.

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I went to bed on a laugh and have woken up to one, you are priceless Less:D:D:D

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There's a new Flower and Gift Stall thats opened up in the Market Hall too, its on a Barrow/Hand Cart & looks very good there near the main entrance!

Best Regards - Taggy

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

There's a new store in the Arndale.......called Fozdar Discount

Re: Town Centre Changes
 

Bee! You've done it again! Don't repeat the post about the new store - give us your opinion.

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BBC News - India's call centre growth stalls

that says india's call centre business is stalling - the call centres are either coming back here or going to the phillipines .... i wonder if that is why theyve gone out there now .. to try and keep the money going they've said they'll do it cheaper ..