There is an old saying that “they don’t build slums”; and it is very true, but when you look at a town like Accrington you can certainly see why it is not just the people that are at fault. It is no exaggeration to say that the public areas of Accrington are maintained to a level only seen in Chernobyl. The paving is filthy on a level that cannot be described (we are talking years of engrained dirt). Even in the town centre there are weeds growing through the paving stones and moss so thick, that it can support the the life of other plants. The few precious trees that once lived outside the Market Hall have now been felled to make way for a low maintenance paved square; The planters have been left to overgrow with brambles; Even some of the road signs are so faded that they are unreadable. The road markings have all but worn out and I wouldn’t recommend attempting to navigate the pot holes unless you have a 4×4. Most of the businesses saw the light and moved out years ago leaving row after row of empty shops; the central bus station has been moved so far out of town, that it is now half a mile walk to get back to where it used to be. Even Burger King and Papa John’s moved out because of the lack of footfall and they were in the Arndale Centre (one of the slightly better bits).
There is no night life any more because all the ***** got wrecked at home and then expected to go into town and dance all night for free; which resulted in all the bars closing down.
There is a big dirty banner down the middle of Broadway (Accrington’s main “shopping” street) which is supposed to be in honour of the Accrington Pals but it is so dirty and weathered that to now just looks like a grey tarpaulin.
Once a year the council workers come along and clean the chewing gum off the paving stones of Broadway, but rather than actually clean the whole of the pavement they just spot clean it. This gives it an effect that looks similar to a slug trail. When the council were asked about this they said “Don’t worry, it will get dirty again in a month or so”.
Just around the corner from me is a discarded fridge which has been there that long that I am sure that by now it has its own postcode; Of late one of the local takeaways seems to have come up with a new and innovative use for it as it is now tipped side ways and full (or at least steadily filling) with waste fat from the friars. Thankfull this should not be a problem of long as we have a large rat population that will more than likely eat it as fast as it is filling.
And just to add insult to injury, the slogan for our council is…. Wait for this, it is a good one…..
“Hyndburn – the place to be an excellent council” You couldn’t make it up!
PS. I do have some beautiful photographs which back up my claims quite nicely.
