A refreshing change

I am referring to the recent announcement by Hyndburn Borough Council to hold a public meeting and referendum to inform local residents and allow them to have their say about a proposed development for a supermarket in the area.

I am a resident of South Ribble and cannot help but feel envious of residents in Hyndburn, as their local authority obviously grant them with enough intelligence to be capable of making an informed decision.

In contrast South Ribble Borough Council's idea of public consultation seems to be to inform residents after irreversible decisions have been made.

There are possibly many instances when this policy is put into practice, but the instance I refer to is the proposed Southern Towngate leisure development.

We have all heard from local councillors, and from the chief executive himself, how good this will be for Leyland, and how many jobs this will generate.

No-one disputes these facts, we are all keen to see this development go ahead.

However, what the local authority is not telling residents is that they intend to allow development to extend beyond the original site which will result in the loss of valuable allotment land, the loss of the air training corps squadron building and last, but not least, the decimation of woodland and destruction of healthy trees.

If the residents of Leyland were asked for their opinion would it not be that surely this development could take place without the loss of features that are valuable to the area and important to the local community.

So well done, Hyndburn Borough Council, your actions are to be commended. And come on South Ribble, what are you afraid of?

Miss G Morley, Brownhill Road, Leyland

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.