Accrington is Dead!

[monkey hanger]

you can say the same for all smaller northern towns for some reason. money and the will to use it seems better in cities and larger villiages that have become for one reason or another tourist destinations. accrington reminds me of where i live keighley. somewhere you would not visit if you didn,t have too.

[Margaret Pilkington]

It could be so very different.
Ramsbottom is a small place...on the fringes of Bury and Manchester....it is a joy to visit.
The Railway is a huge draw, but then the town has a range of independent shops full of interesting things.

Accrington has had money spent foolishly.
Broadway was resurfaced a few years ago at the cost of something like £250,000.
It did not look great when it was finished and it looks even worse now....with the few millimetres thick resin surface coming off in great chunks.

That money could have been better used.
We are supposed to be a Floral Market Town.....there were planters all over the place advertising this fact....yet the market has been allowed to become a ghost of a market....with few stall occupied and a general down at heel look.

They built a new bus station well away from the market, so now people no longer get off the buses where the market is....this footfall has been lost, customers/potential customers lost.

The Market hall used to be a bustling place, full of diverse stalls....stalls that sold local produce....crumpets, cheeses, locally made jams and preserves.....gone!

There is absolutely nothing to come to Accrington for, so the new bust station ferries people away to places that have invested wisely in their town centres.

[Morecambe Ex Pat]

The only reasons we have for visiting Accrington are to see family and visit the Library and their extensive social history section. The once threatened resource is a godsend for those of us researching family history, in the area.

As for the town itself, well what can we say, the new all singing, all dancing plaza in front of the Market Hall looks like it was laid by 'Squinting Ronnie and his one eyed brother. Was it aligned using lazers or lengths of bent string?

Most of the Northern market towns are shadows of their former selves but there are a few whose leaders have had the forethought to promote their uniqueness - unfortunately, not so Accrington.

The path over the Coppice to the bypass is very nice.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The plaza is an embarrassment.
And to think it cost all that money...half of it ours.
I suppose it could have been worse....we could have been expected to stump up the whole amount.

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1217711]


The Market hall used to be a bustling place, full of diverse stalls....stalls that sold local produce....crumpets, cheeses, locally made jams and preserves.....gone!

if you get a chance pop over to halifax and compare their market hall. similar looking but bigger than the one in accrington but still very busy like it was years ago.

[Gremlin]

On your way to Halifax pop into Todmorden indoor market.
Very busy with a good variety of stalls and a waiting list for traders wanting a stall.
Lots of local produce on sale from local traders.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Been to both places and yes...they are exactly what a market hall should be...busy and bustling with a good range of stalls.
It CAN be done, but it need the right approach and attitudes.

[Morecambe Ex Pat]

We were pleased to see that the viaduct end of Hyndburn Road now resembles a proper road rather than a ploughed field.

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by Less

Haven't we already had a thread about drugs that was oversubscribed to?
Yes, accrington is dead, but come on, blaming it on drugs as a sole cause and repeating what has already been said will not remove the problems, we see around us.
Let's turn this thread a little more positive, yes, thanks to neglect from the powers that be we are turning from a dump to a midden and I shouldn't need to emphasise it's WE the people of this fair town that are the problem whether we use drugs or not our lack of contribution, our, 'I just don't really care attitude' has brought all of us to this.

Lord Falconer apologises for "war on drugs" and calls for legalization.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...s-war-on-drugs

As I've said recently I'm not sure about legalization anymore - but surely it's the lesser of 2 evils? People are always going to take drugs - if the stuff is "illegal" and mixed with poisons that kill then surely it's better if it's more legal and at least lives will be saved because hospitals will know what's in it. Trying to stamp it out doesn't seem to be working does it and now people are taking these new substances and dying in larger numbers, because hospitals don't know what they are taking and don't know the antidote. But I'm not 100% sure either way.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Legalising drugs will not make a difference.
The message that legalising drugs sends out is that taking drugs is safe.
Taking drugs is NEVER safe....even therapeutic drugs have side effects.

It is highly likely that if drugs were legalised then they would be taxed.....and there would always be those who would want to avoid taxes..They would get their supply from dealers in a similar way to how they do now.

If drugs were prescribed, you would get those who would sell their supply, but cut it first with Ajax or some other noxious substance.

The drug problem is because police forces have been lax in dealing with those who deal drugs and those who use drugs.

They say that they have not time to devote their resources to catching these criminals.
What they fail to recognise is that many crimes have drug use at their roots.

Addicts need their fix, they have no money, so they burglarise, rob and mug.
A whole industry gets set up to deal with stolen goods.

So Lord Falconer is wrong. Taking the line of least resistance is never the way to tackle wrong doing.

If drugs are legalised then we sell our young people short and damn them to a life where their potential is never realised.

As for your assertion that you are not in favour of legalisation....I think you are being disingenuous.
A leopard only changes its spots if you skin it.

[Margaret Pilkington]

My last post is a paraphrase of post 56.
I will never change my mind on this subject.
I do not care what 'experts' research suggests....it is all down to the fact that the police and the judiciary just cannot be bothered to take a firm stance.
Maybe they will be legalising other crimes that they cannot get under control.....decriminalise it and it ceases to be a problem....except it doesn't.

What happened to the TB mantra....'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime'.....that was a joke?

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1217850]...it is all down to the fact that the police and the judiciary just cannot be bothered to take a firm stance.
Maybe they will be legalising other crimes that they cannot get under control.....decriminalise it and it ceases to be a problem....except it doesn't.

a few weeks ago they were saying that crimes in the school holidays have fallen this year and then they came out with the statement that they do not want to crimanalise young people as it could affect them in later life. what a situation we have got ourselves into.

[kestrelx]

I don't think there are as many people posting here as there was about 5 years ago!? That's what I meant by the title! But then probably many are posting in the private members area, is it the over 18's? that only allows people to post who have been met in person!

As fir legalizing drugs - I'm not bothered, if they remain illegal.

[zizacok]

I agree with you kestrelx! I suffer from diabetes and I can safely confirm. that cbd oil helps me! H I see nothing wrong with that. that you mention cannabis. However, it produces CBD oil.