Whitebirk planning application.

[garinda]

A spokesman for Peel said: "Extensive public consultation has been carried out regarding the Whitebirk retail park application and 90 per cent of Hyndburn residents consulted were in support of the scheme.

Whitebirk Retail Plan Set For Approval (from Blackburn Citizen)

What do we think?

Will it mean less business for town centre shops, or will there be no change?

[jambutty]

Peel Holdings are getting too big for their boots.

Town businesses will suffer both in Accrington and Blackburn.

[Gayle]

Sorry, can't take part in this one because I support the changes and I believe that the town centre will suffer.

I've said for a long time that the route to success in Accrington is not to compete with the likes of Next or any other chain store. We don't have the spending capacity in Accrington to make any of those stores viable. Keep them out of the town centre and let the council make the profit on the rent of the land.

In the town centre we should be concentrating on specialist shops - make Accrington the place to buy specialist meats, arts stuff, antiques, or any other type of stuff.

If you don't view it as competition the two types of shopping experiences can sit side by side.

So won't be voting on this one.

[Lilly]

That sounds like a good idea to me Gayle.

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by Gayle

In the town centre we should be concentrating on specialist shops - make Accrington the place to buy specialist meats, arts stuff, antiques, or any other type of stuff.

This is one of those occasions when I totally agree with Gayle!

[cmonstanley]

but will they want pound shops at whitebirkits not very green either more green belt destroyed .plus more poisoness fumes from cars.plus its going to be big high street shops there's enough of them already..

[garinda]

People keep on saying Accrington should become a 'specialised' retail town.

What exactly does that mean? Because it sounds like a mix of wishful thinking and empty rhetoric to me.

Are there any examples anyone can illustrate the term with?

In Ross-on-Wye, there are lots of bookshops. Harrogate, and Woodbridge in Suffolk offer an array of antique shops, but after that I'm struggling.

[cmonstanley]

maybe if the owners of the buildings in accrington decreased the rent they might encourage decent shops into accy .whitebirk will be a white elephant because there is enough retail parks in lancashire to cover the population..i know its off thread why are there so many food outlets in accrington?

[Lilly]

Clitheroe and Whalley are two towns that come to my mind Garinda.They both have specialised shops.I take 'specialised' to mean offering products/services that you don't find everywhere else,things that are a bit different from the norm.In Clitheroe there is a shop that sells all different types of sausages.They will even make them specially for you so you can choose what goes into them.

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by garinda

What exactly does that mean?

I don't know really, but I like the idea anyway.

[cmonstanley]

Originally Posted by Lilly

Clitheroe and Whalley are two towns that come to my mind Garinda.They both have specialised shops.

tea shops

[katex]

[QUOTE=Gayle;439593]Sorry, can't take part in this one because I support the changes and I believe that the town centre will suffer.


In the town centre we should be concentrating on specialist shops - make Accrington the place to buy specialist meats, arts stuff, antiques, or any other type of stuff.

/QUOTE]

Can't agree with you on this one Gayle. Gotta' think in a business type of way (not arty farty), and today's punters.

Have said on other threads, shops like Next,Debenhams, and larger Boots, is what shoppers want these days, and the only way to ring fence our locals is to try and attract them to overspill into the market, and then maybe can bring on the specialist shops. If they get out at Whitebirk, we have no chance whatsoever.

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by Lilly

Clitheroe and Whalley are two towns that come to my mind Garinda.They both have specialised shops.I take 'specialised' to mean offering products/services that you don't find everywhere else,things that are a bit different from the norm.In Clitheroe there is a shop that sells all different types of sausages.They will even make them specially for you so you can choose what goes into them.

Sorry,should have said specialist not specialised.Think everyone knows what I mean though!

[garinda]

You've got to know your demographic, and to put it bluntly Accrington doesn't have the kind of demographic to support the tweedy type shops Whalley and Clitheroe does.

As for towns supporting an arty farty array of shops, St. Ives, which has one of the biggest communities of artists in the country outside of London, has only three galleries, and one framers, and that takes into account the hundreds of thousands of tourists who go there each year, which certainly can't be said of Accrington.

If planning consent is given for Whitebirk to sell goods they currently can't, it will be the death knell for retailing in Accrington.

Ten years ago there were five shops/stores were you could buy electrical goods in Accrington, four independents and one multiple, now there are none.

I know the country around Bluewater quite well. What were once thriving towns, in affluent areas, are now deserted, with tumbleweed blowing past the ubiquitous hairdressers, take aways, and estate agents, where once there was an array of independent businesses, servicing the communities many and varied needs.

If Whitebirk does get the go ahead to sell things other than white goods, just watch the gradual exodus, as stores like M & S, Burton's, Argos etc. relocate there, and the smaller independent shops we currently have, disappear altogether.

[katex]

I also find the remark from a spokesman representing Peel a little ambiguous .. "no evidence to support the claims that harm will be brought to Accy town centre as a result of this application" No evidence ? (what is it based on then ).. then what no evidence do they have that harm will notbe brought to our centre by this application then !! Think I got that right.

Is it me ?