Blackburn with Darwen Council launches campaign against Preston shopping centre plan (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

Oh, how petty! If you really want to keep shoppers in Blackburn, give them a reason to come!

Quit blocking roads off! Stop putting parking prices up!

Don't knock another town back because they're doing something proactive to encourage shoppers into the town. Take the hint and do something to match, something that will bring people and businesses in.

So Blackburn can redevelope its centre but Preston must not. Is it stupidity driven by jelousy. Preston is a growing city, Blackburn is a dying town.
As a resident of Darwen should i be objecting to the redevelopment of Blackburn centre after all that's going to have a negative effect of Darwen shops. Is their anyone accept Blackburn council who objects to Preston's redevelopment, after all the council is elected to represent the constituents.

always nice to be petty and stifle somebody elses hopes and aspirations if you cant do it yourself.

whether preston expand or not il still do all my shopping there than in blackburn.

more shops, better choices.

Blackburn council have no style and definately no substance

Good luck Preston i for one will be hoping u suceed.

Pure jealousy!!!

Who the hell gives them the right to stop Preston's development.

I say Hyndburn is supposed to block blackburn's development because it is creating a negative feel for us.

SO COME ON MP GREG POPE AND COUNCILLOR PETER BRITCLIFFE, (FOR ACCRINGTON TOWN CENTRE) BLOCK blackburns development!

Or do we have our MP and Councillor to just sit there.
I personally am angry if they think they have the right to block Prestons plans then equally we are ought to do the same to you!!!!!

Unless blackburn has already bribed like Tescos

Wikidi wrote:
Pure jealousy!!! Who the hell gives them the right to stop Preston's development. I say Hyndburn is supposed to block blackburn's development because it is creating a negative feel for us. SO COME ON MP GREG POPE AND COUNCILLOR PETER BRITCLIFFE, (FOR ACCRINGTON TOWN CENTRE) BLOCK blackburns development!

Did you event bother to read this article? Blackburn Council says it does not block the development of Preston but just wants it to scale down the size a little. That is not jealousy, that is just supporting local businesses who will suffer. Yes people will go to Preston as they do the Trafford Centre and other centres. However, having a Debenhams in Blackburn is handy and if it meant they would close their store in Blackburn as a result of this development then we all suffer as it would be a pain to go there just fpr a couple of items.

Wandering in Darwen wrote:
So Blackburn can redevelope its centre but Preston must not. Is it stupidity driven by jelousy. Preston is a growing city, Blackburn is a dying town. As a resident of Darwen should i be objecting to the redevelopment of Blackburn centre after all that's going to have a negative effect of Darwen shops. Is their anyone accept Blackburn council who objects to Preston's redevelopment, after all the council is elected to represent the constituents.

How daft you are!!! You claim "Blackburn is a dying town" yet in the same sentence you say "I should be objecting to the redevelopment of Blackburn". This is indicative of so many people who post entries on these boards using misleading or false claims. Yes Blackburn has problems yet its town centre is one area where there are clear successes - you only have to see what is being built. If you think Preston does not have problems then have a look at some of its areas - they are shocking. I applaud the Council for sticking by its local businesses, it is a shame some of its residents don't have the same loyalty.

mr plod wrote:

Wandering in Darwen wrote: So Blackburn can redevelope its centre but Preston must not. Is it stupidity driven by jelousy. Preston is a growing city, Blackburn is a dying town. As a resident of Darwen should i be objecting to the redevelopment of Blackburn centre after all that's going to have a negative effect of Darwen shops. Is their anyone accept Blackburn council who objects to Preston's redevelopment, after all the council is elected to represent the constituents.

How daft you are!!! You claim "Blackburn is a dying town" yet in the same sentence you say "I should be objecting to the redevelopment of Blackburn". This is indicative of so many people who post entries on these boards using misleading or false claims. Yes Blackburn has problems yet its town centre is one area where there are clear successes - you only have to see what is being built. If you think Preston does not have problems then have a look at some of its areas - they are shocking. I applaud the Council for sticking by its local businesses, it is a shame some of its residents don't have the same loyalty.

Well said Mr Plod and well done the LET for supporting local traders against this great big white elephant that Preston have proposed. I do wonder whether the editorial staff should ask contributors to complete an IQ test before they submit a letter as some are frankly living with the fairies.

Well done the LT for helping the chamber of Trade fight this badly conceived development. Sometimes I feel ashamed to be from the same town as some of the whingers above. I have run a business in Blackburn for 30 years and times have never been so hard. The last thing we need is to have some developer proposing a mini trafford centre on our doorstep at this time. We have at last some real opportunities in Blackburn with the new shopping centre and Market and I just wish you people would support shops like mo e with the glass half full perspective not half empty.

blackburn town center is on a downward slide and has been for a great while now. i would any day of the week spend that little extra more on petrol and travel out of town to places like preston and manchester. what has blackburn got to offer when they finish the redevelopment a flag ship store of peacocks. give me manchesters arndale and trafford and prestons john lewis when it arrives over peacocks and the chavs of blackburn.

pity they haven't got anything better to do with their time and other peoples money.Making Blackburn more attractive and attracting visitors and shoppers would be more constructive.

The silver fox wrote:
Well done the LT for helping the chamber of Trade fight this badly conceived development. Sometimes I feel ashamed to be from the same town as some of the whingers above. I have run a business in Blackburn for 30 years and times have never been so hard. The last thing we need is to have some developer proposing a mini trafford centre on our doorstep at this time. We have at last some real opportunities in Blackburn with the new shopping centre and Market and I just wish you people would support shops like mo e with the glass half full perspective not half empty.

To run a business for 30 years and not see this coming, you need to get out more, try Preston!!

why are theses people trying to hold preston back...youve held back blackburn and made a right c..kup of the town ,dont try bringing preston down the same way ,you had your chances and blown it, (im just going preston now for a pair of kids trainer ,something you cant get in blackburn ,not even in the 3 jjbs ans sports world )

john the boss-dead right .we gave up trying and went on the net.try buying a pair of shoes for a 13 year old boy .who in blackburn sells rockports?

P.S I WOULD REOMMEND THE PARK AND RIDE AT WALTON LE DALE.GOOD LUCK PRESTON.

Redeveloping Blackburn centre is not the problem the problem will be getting to it, and parking when you get there. Nobody is going to pay the exorbitant rate the borough will be charging to recoup the money spent.
If you go to the Trafford Centre you can park all day FREE you can spend all day at the major shopping outlets, at small unique shops and eat at lots of different venues plus finish off with a visit to a great cinema complex.

Paul from darwen learn to read the previous articles and then speak.

Get your own house in order before moaning about other towns Blackburn. Open up Church St to traffic again,make the boulevard a drive in drive out bus station(don't move it, its one of very few towns that have a train AND bus station next to each other)and stop making parking hard work.But we are getting a flagship store in Primark i suppose.Trouble is we'll all look like we've got all are clobber from an ex-catalogue shop in a bit.

What do I pay my council tax for???? Is this Blakburn with Darwen Council's answer to this challenge? "Let's not pull our fingers out and make Blackburn town centre a place where people will want to come and shop. I'll tell you what our gullible electorate - we'll just once again disguise the fact that we've been letting you down for so long by having a good whinge and trying to put the spanner in the works of the plans of a town (sorry city) that has got some get up and go!"

If you had any balls (and any intelligence), you'd be working out how to compete with Preston, and how to get Joe Public back. Do what you're paid to do and listen to the majority. That way you'd be helping the traders of Blackburn not just postponing what is bound to be the inevitable! At the moment the only "White Elephant" (to quote The Pink Panther) will be the "new" Blackburn Town Centre (if it's ever finished).

Blacburn isn't a dying town it is a dead town. A visit to most major towns around here shows that they have better quality shops, cheap or even free parking and more choice. Primark won't improve the town. The council and Jack Straw should stop whingeing and sort out the mess that they have created instead of intruding on Preston's outstanding proposals.

Why not start a campaign to shut the Trafford Centre and all the shops in Manchester? How silly and wasn't a recent story about a REDUCTION in parking spaces in Blackburn? It's the traders I feel sorry for. Blackburn has hundreds of thousands of people within half an hours travel time but how many are tempted?

Blackburn is behind Preston because we simply did not get any investment in the town centre until later in 1990s and now 2002/09.The shopping centre was in badly need of investment in 1990s when i wrote to the editor LET,LORD SQUARE was out of date and needed replacement,now we got the investment but it wont be finish until late 2010.Blackburn town centre is small and compact with all shopping cente ,markets,high street shops,are all close together.The town hall,libary,King George Hall, museum are easy distance of the shopping centre.Since i moved away to nearby Leeds the area is so huge and the traffic and parking is a nightmare one would be lucky if you find a parking space in Leeds.When i visit Blackburn my birthplace,i can relax,the traffic and the parking space is so good that i can go in any ditrection from Morrison superstore,the multi storey carparks are so easy to get to and parking charges are a lot cheaper than,Leeds,Mancheste
r,Preston and Bolton.
Blackburn is not a dying town it needs investments to attract more big name chain shops and more parking spaces.If one looks around Blackburn town centre over the years it has lot of regeneration funding in last decade or so.
Darwen Street,King William Street,King Street,Lower Audley retail park,the train station/bus station at Boulevard.
What Blackburn need is a four star hotel/conference centre just like one in Preston and Bolton.The Preston plan would hit Blackburn AND Blackpool,these three towns are similar in size and should have a level playing feild in retail and leisure investments now and in future.I think the council and JACK STRAW are right to campaign against this Preston plan and Blackpool council is also protesting this Preston plan,all these retail investments should be on a equal footing.The Preston plan is far too big.

As usual M Danny, an excellent comment I agree with every word. Blackburn and my hometown are NOT 'jealous' we are simply fed up of losing out to Preston. I like Blackburn as I have said before, I think Preston is nothing but a soulless clone town trying to live up to this ridiculous ambition of being the '3rd city'. I was in Manchester the other day and its everything Preston's not and never will be; vibrant, cosmoplitan and lively.

Tithebarn just sounds like a joke anyway; I mean high-class retail and restaurants and city apartments. This is working class market town Preston were talking about NOT the West End of London or Central Manchester. Like you rightly say M Danny; the Central Lancashire Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy says in no uncertain terms there should be a level-playing field between Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley AND Preston. Tithebarn is excessive, unrealistic and disproportionate, I hope it is shelved.

Mr Plod, i think you should read through the posts on here then you will see nearly every one supports my view of Blackburn.I still don't understand what right Blackburn council think they have to try and curtail another towns developement, when they too intend to redevelope their town centre. Maybe Mr Plod can explain that.Also i suggest you read my original post again. Then tell me how Blackburn centre redevelopment won't have a detrimental effect on Darwen shops and last of all explain the difference between the two situations. I'll bet you can't.

A good way of deflecting ones incompetence is ridiculing the activities of a stronger hoping nobody will kick off too much when B/burns regen fails big time.If BwDBC had sorted out their own cr*p and built an excellent model of how to regenerate a town centre that was successful then they could comment until such a time all you cronies at the puzzle palace keep your noses out of other towns/cities regen projects.Put Up or do all us tax payers a favour and f**k off!

A good way of deflecting ones incompetence is ridiculing the activities of a stronger hoping nobody will kick off too much when B/burns regen fails big time.If BwDBC had sorted out their own cr*p and built an excellent model of how to regenerate a town centre that was successful then they could comment until such a time all you cronies at the puzzle palace keep your noses out of other towns/cities regen projects.Put Up or do all us tax payers a favour and f**k off!

Christian wrote:
As usual M Danny, an excellent comment I agree with every word. Blackburn and my hometown are NOT 'jealous' we are simply fed up of losing out to Preston. I like Blackburn as I have said before, I think Preston is nothing but a soulless clone town trying to live up to this ridiculous ambition of being the '3rd city'. I was in Manchester the other day and its everything Preston's not and never will be; vibrant, cosmoplitan and lively. Tithebarn just sounds like a joke anyway; I mean high-class retail and restaurants and city apartments. This is working class market town Preston were talking about NOT the West End of London or Central Manchester. Like you rightly say M Danny; the Central Lancashire Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy says in no uncertain terms there should be a level-playing field between Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley AND Preston. Tithebarn is excessive, unrealistic and disproportionate, I hope it is shelved.

Your so wrong Christian,Preston is not a working class market town,its an ambitious university city.May i say i have no ties with Preston what so ever, apart from the fact that i regularly go shopping there. I never shop in Blackburn due to the poor range of shops and having to thread my way through hordes of intimidating youth that are allowed to hang around the so called shopping centre.I did think the inter town rivaly between Blackpool and Preston maybe clouding your judgement.

Christian wrote:
As usual M Danny, an excellent comment I agree with every word. Blackburn and my hometown are NOT 'jealous' we are simply fed up of losing out to Preston. I like Blackburn as I have said before, I think Preston is nothing but a soulless clone town trying to live up to this ridiculous ambition of being the '3rd city'. I was in Manchester the other day and its everything Preston's not and never will be; vibrant, cosmoplitan and lively. Tithebarn just sounds like a joke anyway; I mean high-class retail and restaurants and city apartments. This is working class market town Preston were talking about NOT the West End of London or Central Manchester. Like you rightly say M Danny; the Central Lancashire Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy says in no uncertain terms there should be a level-playing field between Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley AND Preston. Tithebarn is excessive, unrealistic and disproportionate, I hope it is shelved.

Your so wrong Christian,Preston is not a working class market town,its an ambitious university city.May i say i have no ties with Preston what so ever, apart from the fact that i regularly go shopping there. I never shop in Blackburn due to the poor range of shops and having to thread my way through hordes of intimidating youth that are allowed to hang around the so called shopping centre.I did think the inter town rivaly between Blackpool and Preston maybe clouding your judgement.

Christian wrote:
As usual M Danny, an excellent comment I agree with every word. Blackburn and my hometown are NOT 'jealous' we are simply fed up of losing out to Preston. I like Blackburn as I have said before, I think Preston is nothing but a soulless clone town trying to live up to this ridiculous ambition of being the '3rd city'. I was in Manchester the other day and its everything Preston's not and never will be; vibrant, cosmoplitan and lively. Tithebarn just sounds like a joke anyway; I mean high-class retail and restaurants and city apartments. This is working class market town Preston were talking about NOT the West End of London or Central Manchester. Like you rightly say M Danny; the Central Lancashire Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy says in no uncertain terms there should be a level-playing field between Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley AND Preston. Tithebarn is excessive, unrealistic and disproportionate, I hope it is shelved.

Your so wrong Christian,Preston is not a working class market town,its an ambitious university city.May i say i have no ties with Preston what so ever, apart from the fact that i regularly go shopping there. I never shop in Blackburn due to the poor range of shops and having to thread my way through hordes of intimidating youth that are allowed to hang around the so called shopping centre.I did think the inter town rivaly between Blackpool and Preston maybe clouding your judgement.

Christian wrote:
As usual M Danny, an excellent comment I agree with every word. Blackburn and my hometown are NOT 'jealous' we are simply fed up of losing out to Preston. I like Blackburn as I have said before, I think Preston is nothing but a soulless clone town trying to live up to this ridiculous ambition of being the '3rd city'. I was in Manchester the other day and its everything Preston's not and never will be; vibrant, cosmoplitan and lively. Tithebarn just sounds like a joke anyway; I mean high-class retail and restaurants and city apartments. This is working class market town Preston were talking about NOT the West End of London or Central Manchester. Like you rightly say M Danny; the Central Lancashire Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy says in no uncertain terms there should be a level-playing field between Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley AND Preston. Tithebarn is excessive, unrealistic and disproportionate, I hope it is shelved.

Your so wrong Christian,Preston is not a working class market town,its an ambitious university city.May i say i have no ties with Preston what so ever, apart from the fact that i regularly go shopping there. I never shop in Blackburn due to the poor range of shops and having to thread my way through hordes of intimidating youth that are allowed to hang around the so called shopping centre.I did think the inter town rivaly between Blackpool and Preston maybe clouding your judgement.

Apologies for posting 3 times ,kept saying security word did not match.

Nothing is clouding my judgement. Preston is working class it has no demand for high-class retail and city style apartments. I find Preston to be a very boring and soulless clone town UCLAN is a decent enough uniersity depending on the course. I went there myself but its not in the same league as unis like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle like Preston itself.

Christian wrote:
Nothing is clouding my judgement. Preston is working class it has no demand for high-class retail and city style apartments. I find Preston to be a very boring and soulless clone town UCLAN is a decent enough uniersity depending on the course. I went there myself but its not in the same league as unis like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle like Preston itself.

You seem to be missing the point.The question isn't what type of place Preston is it's what right have Blackburn got to try and dictate to preston what size of development they have when they too are redeveloping their own centre without consulting anyone or considering local towns like Darwen and the effect Blackburns redevelopment might have on Darwen's shops.

I'm not missing the point. Blackburn and my town have every right to object against oversized projects that will detriment our economies. The project in Blackburn and recently completed Houndshill in Blackpool are tiny projects compared to Tithebarn. Tithebarn contravenes the regional strategy which is supposed to promote equal growth and development. Maybe Blackburn should hae consulted Darwen. But the point is Tithebarn is a massive project that threatens the vitality and viability of neighboring towns. In Blackpool we got a medium Debenhams and a few new shops there is a big difference there. Blackburn and other towns have every right to object to protect our towns. We are NOT 'nimbys' or 'parochial' or any other childish insults Preston can come up with. They are the ones being small-minded.

Reading peoples comments posted here makes me ill.

They're a mixture of realists who can see the real state of the town and knockers who have no loyalty or love for Blackburn whatsoever. For the latter If you like Preston so much , move there, You will not be missed.

My stance is this; Let Preston do whatever they've got to do for their people.

What Blackburn(can't speak for blackpool) council leaders/MP's need to do is 'sweep their side of the street' and concentrate on needs of their citizens. Why not start with planners who know what they're doing because one look at the infrastructure of both towns says the people currently employed are clueless and are , in my opinion to blame for the current demise of both towns. Be brave leaders and get shut. Secondly if you want to attract business's shops and resturants make it financially attractive for them to operate. Maybe cheaper rents and rates lastly free parking for shoppers and what about some free events in the centre at night to attract people.. something like a proms in the cathederal grounds or beat the band a punk festival even. And I'm talking about every year not just one-offs.

Why not get local people like Ronnie Brown on the Job or the lads promoting the new bars. I bet they could do this town some good given half a chance.

One things for sure if the patient isn't given some medicine soon it may be too late. Act now or else!

Christian wrote:
I'm not missing the point. Blackburn and my town have every right to object against oversized projects that will detriment our economies. The project in Blackburn and recently completed Houndshill in Blackpool are tiny projects compared to Tithebarn. Tithebarn contravenes the regional strategy which is supposed to promote equal growth and development. Maybe Blackburn should hae consulted Darwen. But the point is Tithebarn is a massive project that threatens the vitality and viability of neighboring towns. In Blackpool we got a medium Debenhams and a few new shops there is a big difference there. Blackburn and other towns have every right to object to protect our towns. We are NOT 'nimbys' or 'parochial' or any other childish insults Preston can come up with. They are the ones being small-minded.

Blackpool and Blackburn are smaller
less attractive towns for developers, therefore whatever development is built there would naturally be on a smaller scale than a new expanding city. The Tithebarn area is ajacent to the main shopping area of Preston, is run down and therefore prime development area.Which i don't think is out of proportion to the size of Preston. The difference in Prestons plans is that they include housing,as well as leisure facilities something Blackburns development does'nt. And yes If Blackburn want a say in Preston's development then neighbouring towns should have been consulted about their's. There is no chance of any new retail development in Darwen because Blackburn would not allow it.

We are not 'smaller' and 'less attractive'. I think Preston is unattractive, it is nothing but a clone town and it has nothing of significance or uniqueness. Blackpool has a larger population than Preston and a much bigger catchment area being a tourist town. Preston is a small working class 'city' it is NOT Manchester or Liverpool. The development in my view is excessive and disproportionate. The NWDA regional strategy says there should be equal opportunities for development NOT all for Preston and nothing for other towns. I hope justice is done and that unfair project is scrapped.

This issue is small beer compared to Blackburn with Darwen's ambition to build a massive waste burner that will pollute the whole area particularly Darwen if it is built West of that little gem. Where is the consultation on that proposal. That is far more alarming than whether another town has gone out and sourced investment in the town.

How dare Blackburn W Darwen try and stop another town from expanding..why don't they take a leaf out of their book and expand Blackburn??!! I live in Blackburn and I would never shop in our toen centre because I refuse to part with my hard earned money in the shops that Blackburn has..cheap!! Even the better shops like Topshop won't spend money updating their shops because they know nobody wants to come here when they can go to Preston or Manchester and have a far greater choice with their hard earned wages!!
Blackburn is a dying town and the sooner this council realises it the better, a serious amount needs doing to bring back 'serious shoppers' to Blackburn. This stupid council have even taken all the Multi-storey parking places now for 'town centre workers'..Oh for goodness sake..their won't be any need for workers if you don't let shoppers in you CLOWNS..Good on ya Preston..The sooner you build it the better in mine (and most people I know) opinion!!!

(a Darener, Darwen )every post iv read your on & every post your f***in moaning get a life... your a joke!!

bulldogbrfc wrote:
(a Darener, Darwen )every post iv read your on & every post your f***in moaning get a life... your a joke!!

The sooner you get back to school after the Easter break the better judging by your thoughtful and well composed post. I suggest you leave the more serious topics to educated people.

The Concept that there should be Equality of Competition is for lunatics.

We either compete in products, prices, services or we don't and everything is the same products at the same price with the same services. everywhere.

Preston have done that which Blackburn has not, they have on the most part kept a lot of the original buildings and architecture.
Blackburn has lost it to development, that which was unique about Blackburn, now sadly lost. Ask any of the older generation and they will tell you.
what Blackburn needs to do is give shoppers what they want, so the council need to listen to the shopping folk before building ego centered monuments to them selves, i hope the tax payer will not be paying for their statues.
Blackburn would do well to construct two open markets along similar lines to the Preston flag markets, which are very popular to visitors to Preston.
I would situate them both, one behind the town hall where a useless park is to be built and the other on the carpark on penny street ,next to and in front of the fleece public house and thwaites breweryor a smaller shed on the waste land opposite the side entrance to morrisons.This might ease some of the transition problems that will arise when the markets are demolished. I think that this would attract a new breed of business traders(cheap one off stall rental) and car booters, lets face it we all love a bargain hunt and such trading spaces as this would add a bit of the old character which Blackburn lost in the past 60 years or so. I think we could learn a lot from Prestonians and blackburnians. Preston have the right formula in that they are giving their citizens what they want and creating a boomtown economy with this development, i say blackburn , do the same and remove all these stranglehold restrictions that you have always placed on our traders and shoppers. why has the three day market ever only been open for three days when clearly shoppers are in the center all week? I know one thing that really bovers me and that is this.. that i am being treated as some sort of sheep that is not allowed to graze in another field when i want to if but for a day, i dont want to be deprived of a shopping experience in Preston because B WITH D want to keep me herded in Blackburn, remember you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink.
Think again Blackburn, thems jobs for our boys too, you better have a word with Gordon Brown.

it will never happen, and if it does i can't see how it would be viable it's too big for preston blackpool and blackburn combined! unreal!

The posters from Blackburn wanting our town to die so they can have a nice day out make me sick to my stomach, their scale of selfishness breaks new records during a deep recession. Why don't you shallow ***** leave the town, we dont want you