ACCRINGTON Stanley are not the only team with big aspirations in Hyndburn.

The recent development of Accrington's shopping facilities has been rewarded with a huge jump up the league table of a national shopping centre survey.

Conducted by Manchester-based chartered surveyors, Hillier Parker, the survey featured 1,396 towns and cities across Britain and Accrington blazed in at 255th position.

"It's great news for the town," said councillor Bernard Dawson, chairman of Hyndburn Council's economic development committee. "There have been millions of pounds invested in Accrington over the past 10 years and the council's strategic investment team has worked hard to attract major retailers like Halfords and Sainburys.

"It pleases me immensely that all our hard work has been rewarded and the team will continue striving to make Accrington a great place to shop."

Just along the high street, neighbours Blackburn failed to make an impression on the top 100 shopping centres despite a £25 million pound investment programme.

The survey was based on the number of major, non-food, national, high street retailers contained in each town.

In the same survey in 1984, Accrington trailed in at 335th place but that was two years before the arrival of the Arndale Centre.

Since opening in 1986, the centre has helped spearhead the town's redevelopment set to be further enhanced by the building of a retail complex on Eastgate, the old MD Dairies site.

"We're expanding all the time and this has been shown through the survey," said town centre manager David Brown. "We've made a concerted effort to provide people with as much choice as possible.

"It's a very competitive world and shoppers still go to Burnley and Blackburn for some things but we're bringing them back here with our free car parking and high security."

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