I WAS so incensed and outraged at reading the article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph suggesting that Darwen Tower be replaced with a state of the art folly, that I felt obliged to put pen to paper.

I am nearly 60 years of age, have lived in Darwen all my life, and have yet to see one good thing come from the Blackburn takeover of our once fine town of Darwen. I have no quarrel with Blackburn people whatsoever, for I have found them to be both neighbourly and as sound and true to their own town as I am to mine.

But, Queen Victoria's Jubilee Tower, or as it is known locally Darwen Tower', is a monument in itself. Not only a monument to the late Queen but also a monument to the folk of Darwen. For they paid for its construction in the first place, by public subscription.

Blackburn Council in my opinion, took over the late Darwen Council's obligation as custodians of Darwen and its assets when Dr Lees signed his casting vote. From that day they seem to have been content with abusing this privilege.

I have watched Blackburn Council systematically drain Darwen of its assets, its pride and its identity, all in the name of so-called progress.

I have not forgotten when, shortly after Blackburn Council took over the reins of Darwen, that they proposed to sell off our tower to an American, no doubt to raise a little extra revenue for them to waste on whatever whim they had at the time.

Then they put up signs at Bull Hill welcoming motorists to Blackburn South and, more recently, there was the fiasco regarding the Blackburn motorways services that are not in Blackburn.

A few months ago, it was our health centre. After careful and considerate planning, it was built in such an area of the town that it is inaccessible to the infirm and elderly.

Now it's our town centre, three-day market, leisure centre, schools, together with an original idea of old Darwen that has to be decimated and we the residents, have no proper say.

Something that to my mind would be an asset to both Blackburn and Darwen as a whole, would be an improved boating lake on Queen's Park. But far larger than the present one. And to put the icing on the cake, rebuild Blackburn Town Hall and place it in the centre of the new lake, and then flood the lake preferably when the councillors are in a meeting sessions in it.

At least we would then be set to start again as one town.

STUART WILLIAMSON (Mr), Eccleshill Gardens, Eccleshill, Darwen.