The Amazing Accrington board, a cross section of business leaders from private and public sectors, are delighted with the announcement that they have been successful in their peer pressure bid to Hyndburn Borough Council for £150k to conduct professional, far reaching studies into making the centre of Accrington the next UK success story.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his trip to Hyndburn yesterday confirmed that there was ‘cash available’ to support town centres, and that he would welcome a bid from Accrington, which could make a ‘big material difference’.
The funds from Hyndburn Borough Council were sanctioned to prepare a far reaching, visionary bid to transform Accrington town centre and move it forward for 2040, not provide a quick fix. Sara Britcliffe, MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden needs an oven ready proposal to take to the Government, so that levelling up funding for Accrington can be awarded.
A steering group will now be formed to tender the work and manage the bid, with key stakeholders representing retail, leisure and charity sectors, Hyndburn Borough Council, business leaders and the public – most importantly they must all have a positive vision for change through hard work.
Murray Dawson, chair of Amazing Accrington and MD of Scott Dawson Advertising, said ‘This has been a challenging journey. We have had lots of support from Sir John Timpson with his visit to Accrington before Christmas, right the way through to open discussions with Government ministers and other towns who have been successful in their bids. This will help to change generations, just as our football club has stepped up in the custodianship of Andy Holt – the town centre now has a chance to form a plan for 2030 and 2040. It will be our grandchildren who will benefit from all our collaborative hard work.’
Sara Britcliffe MP added, ‘We definitely need a plan for the Borough, and by working collaboratively with local businesses and stakeholders we can achieve this. I will continue to lobby for Government support to achieve the vision we create.’
Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council, said ‘This bid is for the good of the town, and Hyndburn Borough Council have shown great support for this cross party and cross sector initiative by providing the funds to prepare a bid. Neighbouring towns have been successful in their bids and I’m really looking forward to getting started on making a great leap for Accrington, which will benefit the whole borough.’
