Leader's Viewpoint - Cllr Clare Cleary

The recent decision of the Public Inquiry to confirm Lancashire County Council’s compulsory purchase of land and property for the new Accrington bus station is great news for Accrington Town Centre.  Work should start in 2015 and will bring with it state of the art new facilities and much improved bus services between Hyndburn and Blackburn.

Relocating the bus station to the Crawshaw Street site will also allow the County Council to improve the Peel Street area including the introduction of some town centre parking immediately adjacent to Accrington’s famous Market Hall.

And there is more good news for Accrington Town Centre with the Heritage Lottery Fund confirming approval of the Council’s bid for £1.5 million for town centre improvements.  The Council will match the Lottery’s £1.5 million creating an overall budget of £3 million which will be used to improve some key town centre buildings and a new town centre square which will commemorate the Accrington Pals.

The Market Hall goes from strength to strength, not only is it almost fully occupied, we are also at the cutting edge of modern shopping with the introduction of a ‘click and collect’ service where customers can now order their goods from the Market online and either go and collect them or have them delivered to their home.  Who says we can’t compete with the supermarkets?

The Council’s plans to regenerate the Woodnook neighbourhood and bring over 130 empty homes back into use is progressing well.  The Council’s partner, PlaceFirst, is making rapid progress and the Woodnook area is already beginning to transform.  The facelift work on Nuttall Street looks fantastic and the first five houses are ready to be occupied.

Last week’s Emergency Cabinet and the decision to dispose of the Lyndon Playing Fields for housing illustrates that sometimes local politicians are faced with very difficult decisions.  The Council is under huge pressure to ensure there is new modern housing in the Borough for future generations.  At the same time, in the case of Lyndon Playing Fields, we acknowledge some local residents do not want to lose a valuable local amenity.  However, on balance, Cabinet’s decision was the right one bearing in mind that new high quality housing will be built, some much needed new larger public open space will be created nearby, Great Harwood Rovers will benefit from improved pitches and facilities and the Great Harwood show will be secured.  I appreciate that we will not convince everyone that we made the right decision, but in time, I am confident people will see the benefits.

Keepmoat’s new housing development in West Accrington has been a great success.  The new sales centre on Blackburn Road is looking fantastic with great progress being made with the next phase for a further 103 new homes.  Anyone looking for a new modern home I would urge you to go down to Blackburn Road and look how impressive it is.

Cllr Clare Cleary 

Cabinet Member for Housing and Town Centres