AS the latest edition of the council's mouthpiece The Shuttle' states, Blackburn is booming and set to undergo its biggest change for years.' I applaud the council's efforts to regenerate the town, likewise Darwen, but do they have real vision? Change is often good but not for its own sake.

All the best towns and cities that I have visited, both home and abroad, have a healthy mix of culture and heritage, retail and leisure.

They also boast attractions that are unique and that relate to their development and culture.

Unfortunately, in Blackburn much of the heritage has gone.

Now we hear that our remaining link to the textile industry, the Lewis Textile Museum, is to close.

This museum is unique to Blackburn and is important to the aforementioned mix.

If we want to attract visitors to a town aspiring to city status, we need to be able to offer something different that is relevant to our culture and heritage.

The council should be promoting and enhancing the museum, not closing it down. £23,000 seems a paltry amount from a reported £185million of council investments this year.

We now regret the shortsighted decisions to demolish such gems as the market clock and the Thwaites Arcade in the not too distant past.

Let's not be regretting the loss of another gem in the near future.

DENIS NEALE, Springvale Garden Village, Darwen.