BUSINESS leaders attending the #AmazingAccrington meeting have been informed of the many initiatives currently benefiting the town and surrounding districts.
Joe McIntyre, Deputy Chief Executive of Hyndburn Council, spoke of a major development of 95 acres of land by Euro Garages and a fabulous £2m redevelopment of the old Accrington fire station by Totally Wicked.
McDonald’s have undertaken a £700,000 refurbishment of the town centre restaurant and a new gym is scheduled for the Super Bowl site to which Fine Foods and Domino’s Pizza have also moved within the last 18 months.
Mr McIntyre said: “There are a lot of wonderful projects happening at the moment in Hyndburn and we are constantly striving to improve conditions for people living in the borough. Projects such as the refurbishment of Haworth Art Gallery and lobbying for the extension to Manchester’s Metrolink system into Rossendale, show that we are both looking after our heritage and looking to the future. We want to continue to support Hyndburn to the best of our ability and the #AmazingAccrington group is just another string to add to our bow to help us achieve our goals.”
Public sector investment is evidenced by the completion of a £500 thousand project at the Haworth Art Gallery to bring the Old Stables and Gallery into use and further projects are planned within the next 12 months. The Town Centre Heritage Refurbishment is currently underway as part of a £2 million project to redevelop the town square and upgrade shop fronts.
Transport links have been improved, with an upgrade of Junction 7 speeding up motorway access and the council is very active in lobbying for improved local transport. These include a direct train link to Manchester Airport, re-establishment of the Skipton to Colne rail link, improvements to the M66 and A56, the M65 extension into Yorkshire and for expansion of the Manchester Metrolink tram system into Rossendale and Hyndburn.
The Council is also working to secure government funding to enable a major investment in housing at Huncoat which could lead to 2,000 new homes. Work on improving Woodnook has created a great new neighbourhood of contemporary family homes by transforming three whole streets of Victorian terraced houses. The developer PlaceFirst has just won a national prize for the success of this project. Other plans include housing development in Great Harwood on the Lyndon Playing Fields.
Murray Dawson, Managing Director of Scott Dawson Adverting and a founding member of the #AmazingAccington group, said: “It is fabulous that all of the work that we have been strategically planning over the last few years is now starting to come to fruition. It’s great news for the borough.”
#Amazing Accrington business leaders agreed that this is a very successful programme led and supported by the council and that it is an essential part of making Accrington a great place both to live and to do business.
The group’s focus is the creation of an enthusiastic, positive feeling for the area, the celebration of business successes and the creation of confidence to attract new business to the area.
For more information about #AmazingAccrington visit www.amazingaccrington.co.uk
