8 Evening Post, Thursday, February 12, 2009
uk
NEWSBRIEF FACTFILE
Police seek a
raid witness
POLICE are probing a ter-
rifying armed robbery at a
Lancashire building society.
Officers investigating the
raid last Thursday at
Garstang’s Nationwide
Building Society hope wit-
nesses will come forward.
Securicor staff taking
money to a cash machine on
site at 6.25pm were threat-
ened by three raiders with a
crowbar and a baseball bat.
Call police on 01524
63333 or Crimestoppers,
anonymously, on 0800
555111.
Driver denies
role in collision
A DRIVER accused of a
hit-and-run accident involv-
ing a 13-year-old boy on a
pavement in Kirkham has
appeared in court.
Darren Clarke, 36, of
Hastings Road, Freckleton,
pleaded not guilty to driving
a Peugeot 306 without care
and attention in Old Row
on November 20 last year.
He also denied failing to
stop after an accident and
failing to report the acci-
dent to police.
The case was adjourned
until May 14 for trial by
Blackpool magistrates.
Dirty chimney
led to incident
A DIRTY chimney left a
home in New Longton filled
with smoke after it caught
fire.
Firefighters from Pen-
wortham were called to
South Avenue at 7.45pm on
Tuesday and used a ventila-
tion unit to clear the smoke.
Bedroom is
hit by blaze
FIREFIGHTERS were
called to house in Preston
after a fire broke out in a
bedroom.
The incident happened at
Ratten Lane, Hutton, at
3.50pm on Tuesday. No-one
was in at the time.
The fire caused severe
smoke damage to the bed-
room. The cause of the fire
is under investigation.
Woman hurt
in car crash
A WOMAN was taken to
hospital with head and neck
injuries after a car accident
which blocked a busy road.
Firefighters had to cut the
roof off the vehicle which
was in a front-end smash
with another car on West-
minster Road, Morecambe,
shortly after 10.20am on
Tuesday.
The woman was taken to
Royal Lancaster Infirmary
with minor injuries. The
other driver was unhurt.
A tale of two towns,
one city and civil war
A CIVIL war is raging
in Lancashire over
Preston’s £700m
Tithebarn revamp
plans. Blackburn and
Blackpool are opposing
it – but what do the
people of those towns
think? In the first of a
two-day special report,
CHRIS VISSER
crossed the battle-lines
to Blackburn to find
out more
SORT out our own
backyard first.
Blackburnshopmanagers,
market stall holders and
shoppers issued a resound-
ing riposte to their local
leaders, who have vowed to
try and block Preston’s ex-
pansion plans.
Blackburn MP Jack Straw
waded into the row this week
saying Preston’s £700m rebirth
could damage East Lancashire
– echoing sentiments from
down the M55 in Blackpool
about the impact Preston’s
scheme could have on the sea-
side resort.
Many traders told the
Evening Post during our two
hours in the town that they
have greater concerns about
Blackburn’s development – in-
cluding a new Primark – than
the impact of a neighbouring
plan 10 miles away.
But Blackburn with Darwen
Council leader Coun Michael
Lee said: “I’m amazed they are
complaining the Primark store
will take away more from them
than a £750m development in
Preston.
“That’s bigger than projects
in Blackburn and Blackpool
‘The vibrancy has gone from the shopping centre’
HAVING grown up in Black-
burn, I remember it for its
busy market, the bustling
King William Street with its
large Marks and Spencer and
a crowded shopping precinct.
But that vibrancy has long
gone and been replaced by an
uneasy pessimism coupled
with uncertainty for the fu-
ture.
The council is promising a
revamped shopping centre
with a new market but today
lep.co.
THE VIEW FROM BLACKBURN...
SHOPPERS and traders told
the Evening Post their
views about Preston’s
£700m expansion.
Shopper Nahida Mahmood,
38, of Black-
burn, who also
works on a mar-
ket stall, said:
“I think shop-
pers go out of
Blackburn any-
way – I go to
Preston.
“They (Preston leaders)
have every right to expand
and if Blackburn was a city,
it would do the same. I
think Blackburn should
start sorting its own town
centre out before we look
at Preston.”
Blackburn market trader
Eileen Hargreaves, manag-
er of Granny Buns, said of
Preston’s regen-
eration: “I think
it’s great as
Preston’s been
CLOSE TO HOME: The redevelopment of Blackburn’s Mall shopping centre is worrying
the town’s traders more than Preston’s Tithebarn scheme
a more shock-
Fashions said smaller towns and people for regeneration. I miss
ing place to he is closing have never heard of Black- quality shops here – every-
shop than
down due to burn. How many people thing is just pound shops
Blackburn. pressures from know where Blackburn is? and budget stores.”
“I can’t see anything wrong
the credit Preston is a city, Blackburn Colin Jackson, who runs a
with having a Lewis and ex- crunch and the is nothing.” meat stall on Blackburn
panding.
council wanting Shopper and unemployed Market, said of
“The row is all silly and po- him to relocate nurse Christiane Bode, 37, Tithebarn: “It
litical – unfortunately our
to the town’s new mall. of Blackburn, won’t be good
council don’t do the best
for our town.
“To be honest, when I first
Mr Rauf said: “If a Primark
goes in the new mall, that’s
said of Pre-
ston’s plans: “I
as I think shop-
pers will all go
came to Blackburn I loved
it, we had a diversity of
going to affect us more and
the shoppers won’t go to
Preston anyway.
wouldn’t be
very supportive
because Pre-
there (to Pre-
ston) and not
stay in Black-
shops but now we have “The authorities should be ston has every- burn. Trade in Blackburn is
nothing apart from the mar-
worrying about the new Pri- thing already awful anyway – it’s no good
ket really.” mark and advertising, as it and the smaller towns like at all. When they move the
Basat Rauf, manager of in-
is rubbish. You hear of all Blackburn, Burnley and market, I’m not going as it
dependent store Sibby’s the other markets in the Colne need better funding would cost too much.”
put together. We are concen- lot of redevelopment which is The mall in Blackburn is un- to open next year, will also fea-
trating on trying to get Black- going to raise the profile of dergoing a £66m redevelop- ture a 50,000 sq ft Primark
burn up and running and we Blackburn. ment to create a new building store as well as larger versions
are redeveloping the mall and which will house the current of current town centre stores
He said he did not think
TJ Hughes. There’s a lot going Tithebarn would happen any- indoor market. including W H Smith, New
on at the moment – there’s a way due to the credit crunch. The revamped centre, due Look and others.
‘Pessimistic and uncertain’ – Blackburn- shop Mercer’s, which has
been around for 170 years,
the indoor market have gone
to try their luck in Manches-
bred reporter Chris Visser gives his set to go to the wall, it is obvi- ter and shop manager Basat
personal view on the town and its attitude ous something much more Rauf said he was thinking of
than a few paint strokes are doing the same.
to a resurgent Preston’s ambitious plans needed to fight the downturn. In the mall, men in suits
for the £700m Tithebarn scheme Council bosses say things stand around with leaflets of-
are being done and a new Pri- fering stores six months free
all shoppers see is a building placed with a wall featuring mark will help boost trade rent if they enter a competi-
site surrounded by struggling paintings of shop doors and but stall holders, some of tion.
stores advertising closing shelves full of goods in a des- whom have been around for But it is unknown if it will
down sales. perate bid to fight the grow- more than 35 years, are not have an impact in a shopping
In Blackburn Market, ing gloom. so confident. centre half-empty, mainly
stalls have even been re- But with the town’s oldest I was told many traders in filled with elderly shoppers.