#AmazingAccrington Magazine - Summer Edition 2024

Kindly sponsor ponsored by

SUNDAY 9th JUNE, 12noon to 6pm Procession starts at Harvey St at 12noon, followed by a Family Fun Day at Rhyddings Park

Sat 31 st August & Sun 1 st September

FREE feeder buses from Accrington Rail Station, Blackburn Bus Station & Whalley Bus Station For more information & to enter a vehicle see Town & District Transport Trust Facebook or www.tdtt.co.uk/events Great Harwood Big Transport Weekend 2024

Above: Visuals of the new Accrington Pals Gardens. Below: Sculpture and designer John Everiss and his son George.

ACCRINGTON PALS Memorial Garden Redevelopment and Sculpture

By Cath Holmes

“I remember when the news came through to Accrington that the Pals had been wiped out. I don’t think there was a street in Accrington and district that didn’t have their blinds drawn, and the bell at Christ Church tolled all the day.” - Percy Holmes, brother of an original Accrington Pal. When I saw those words on the cover of the proposal, I knew this was promising, very, very promising.

Some years ago, as a member of the Town Centre Initiative board, I put forward a proposal to re-develop the Accrington Pals Memorial Garden. It was tired looking, scruffy and difficult to have Remembrance services of any number due to the large planters and cobbled paving being obstructions, little clear standing space in front of the Memorial stone. Round the corner we had the “new” town square – a neat, clean, tidy looking event space and back round the corner the Pals Garden, not so great. I brought up the proposal several, no numerous times. I’m sure TCIP members were sick of hearing me banging on about it but I was determined something should be done. Thanks to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund awarded to the Council,

there was the money to renovate the site and in 2022, go ahead was given to crack on.

I’m Chair of Hyndburn Green Spaces and we worked with Hyndburn Council’s Parks Team to come up with a design, layout, planting scheme and plant colour palette, street furniture and lighting. To work on this concept and other pockets of green area in Accrington town centre, a Town Green Team was formed, made up of town centre businesses, Hyndburn Borough horticultural department consulting with the Accrington Royal British Legion, who put forward further suggestions of plant colours and a flag pole, as well as choosing two benches to complement the existing two. Council, Lancashire County Council, Accrington & Rossendale College

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