Rawtenstall's new public square is 'new beginning' for town
2:00pm Sunday 7th October 2012 in News
By Chris Adams
The news square
THE OPENING of Rawtenstall’s new public square heralds ‘a new beginning for the town’.
Those were the words of council leader Alyson Barnes after the open space on the former Valley Centre site was officially launched yesterday.
Brave Theo Bishop, 9, was on hand to cut the ribbon and declare the £2.5m development open. He returned from a life-changing operation in America in August which allowed him to walk flat-footed for the first time.
Community leaders throughout the Valley praised the launch, which coincided with the second Rawtenstall Annual Fair.
June Worsley, chair of organisers Rossendale Revival said: “It was absolutely fantastic, I really think it’s a fresh start, I’m thrilled with how it went.
“The feedback from stallholders has been really positive.
“This open space is great, I hope we get to keep it for a long time.”
Coun Barnes added that she was absolutely delighted with the spirit and atmosphere in the town over the weekend.
She said: “It’s good to see so many people out and about. We aim to make a visit to Rawtenstall a real day out. “We’re a traditional Lancashire market town, and we only have to look at the success of Clitheroe and Ramsbottom to see what can be done.
“We’re in talks with an artisan market group next week about bringing more of this sort of thing to the town.”
Former Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott unveiled a mosaic dedicated to the old Astoria Ballrooms which used to occupy the Valley Centre site.
Listing a host of music stars, including The Who, to have played the venue in its heyday, he declared: “A little bit of them lies here now.”
Mayor of Rossendale, Councillor Brian Essex, said it was ‘a privilege and honour to open this marvellous square’, before offering three cheers and encouraging visitors to ‘spend, spend, spend’. Former Rossendale Radio DJs Si Carvell and Peter Sweetmore played music and introduced live acts as hundreds of people flocked to the square throughout the day.
Comments(18)
her from here
says...
2:51pm Sun 7 Oct 12
2.5 million seems a lot of money for us to pay for a open space, at least there is somewhere for the kids to go with their skate boards
pip2pop
says...
3:03pm Sun 7 Oct 12
What with?
theboxman
says...
4:20pm Sun 7 Oct 12
The Haslingden councillors who voted for this money squandering white elephant should be ashamed of what they have achieved
vicn1956
says...
4:31pm Sun 7 Oct 12
OK if there are market stalls on Sat. but honestly.
pdb951
says...
5:36pm Sun 7 Oct 12
Bacupbloke
says...
6:28pm Sun 7 Oct 12
Well, the issue was well publicised before the election. So like it or not, the voters were given the choice and picked the party that spent £2.5 million on this tarmac wasteland. So the voters can be happy with their decision.
her from here
says...
10:36pm Sun 7 Oct 12
TheReality wrote:Why have a go at Bacup, It's no different than any other town in Rossendale there is good and bad every where.
Bacupbloke wrote:Your quote as it were, is not a quote from any post above and the fact that you are called bacupbloke suggests your location and by implication your bitterness. Everyone knows bacup is a crap hole and no one in their right mind would put money in to it other than maybe to drop a large bomb on it! Having said that Rawtenstall is also a craphole and the "new" town centre is a disgrace with its modern lighting in a conservation area and its large and expansive tarmac areas. At least Ashcap Properties will make a nice little sum when the council sell it on, as that was part of the corrupt crappy council agreement we have.
How do councillors get away with it???
Well, the issue was well publicised before the election. So like it or not, the voters were given the choice and picked the party that spent £2.5 million on this tarmac wasteland. So the voters can be happy with their decision.
The place is a joke! The design is less than poor and the whole thing is one big corrupt council scam!
But only Rawtenstall has tarmac city it must leave a bitter taste in the mouth for people in Haslingden who could lose their swimming baths.
jack daniels
says...
2:46pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Good call
says...
7:24pm Mon 8 Oct 12
theboxman wrote:If your sick of the council squandering your money , less services for same money withold your council tax
Revive Rawtenstall yeah at the expense of Haslingden as usual.These people and their 'revival',comments are in 'cloud cuckoo' land.Now close Hassy baths and finish the hatchet job.Also where is the hotel that was supposed to be coming to this site? £2,500,000 for this.What a waste of public money
The Haslingden councillors who voted for this money squandering white elephant should be ashamed of what they have achieved
ianloveday
says...
8:52pm Mon 8 Oct 12
GHH
says...
2:53pm Tue 9 Oct 12
rockylad
says...
8:33pm Tue 9 Oct 12
vicn1956 wrote:Fundamentally the right thing to do, but I think a lack of funds as forced the council to do half a job. The work done should have included measures to deter Skating (rows of cobble sets inlaid in the tarmac path) and maybe bye laws passed to make the area a safe place to walk in.
Went to look at it today. My wife thought it was a skatepark! There was nowhere to sit.If you tried to walk across it you risked being knocked down by skaters or bikers. I couldn't believe it when I read it cost £2.5 million!!!!!!!!!!!
OK if there are market stalls on Sat. but honestly.
Bacupbloke
says...
8:45pm Tue 9 Oct 12
What do you expect when only a handful of councillors have worked in the real world. The majority have backgrounds in education, the NHS. unions, voluntary work or local community bodies. Very few seem to have any entrepreneurial knowledge or financial skills.
Anyway, let's see how big a revival it brings over the next six months. One weekend is too soon to judge. After all, some people looked at the football tables and thought that Blackburn Rovers could keep their place at the top of the Championship. A month later reality has struck back. Ignore all the hype about this so-called town square and watch it become an even bigger eyesore than the Valley Centre.
pdb951
says...
9:02pm Wed 10 Oct 12
Still a bag of s**t
Eye On The Valley
says...
11:03pm Wed 10 Oct 12
pdb951 wrote:I think some of the people posting on here are perhaps forgetting what was there before? There was around £80,000 spent on the "square" (was that just an attempt at humour, pdb951, or did you really just think it was the round bit in the middle of the photo?) The rest of the £2.5 million budget was spent on acquisition and demolition of the Valley Centre and clearing the site afterwards. I think better negotiation might have reduced the cost of acquiring the site but, in my opinion, this was the right course of action and I fully support it. It's a 3 mile journey from Haslingden to Marl Pits.
Shouldn't it be called the town ROUND. It is not square.
Still a bag of s**t
Sagacious 1
says...
11:00am Sun 14 Oct 12
Bacupbloke
says...
11:21am Sun 14 Oct 12
Sagacious 1 wrote:This isn't a very sagacious view. All MPs of every party claim expenses.
Maybe Rossendale MP Jake Berry can help! Then again it's time consuming and hard work filling in expenses forms all day. Still a jobs a job.
Jake Berry was so annoyed by the planned spending on this tarmac wasteland that he asked the auditor to look at the process by which it had been approved. The auditor said that there had not been clear information.
So the leader of the councillor says that this audit is a waste of £20,000.
In her view nobody should dare to question her decision. As for the £20,000 it was exactly what Labour approved as a subsidy for late buses to bring bingo players back from Rochdale to Rawtenstall.
If people really don't like the new square then they should write or email to Alyson Barnes at the council web page. And by the way the next super events on the square aren't until nearly Christmas time. That must be getting great value for money.
pip2pop says...
2:26pm Sun 7 Oct 12