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From: Michael Fenton
Sent: 27 February 2008 12:12
To: POSTBAG@THEDARRENER
Subject: Train to the Tower.
For several years now, there has been talk of Darwen evolving into a tourist destination similar to the way Hebden Bridge is presented. If the town is to prosper rather than decline or at least maintain itself, tourism would seem to be the only way forward. Certainly, the local manufacturing industry seems to be on its last legs.
The potential for tourism is there, although to make it successful, I would suggest that there ought to be more attractions than the market, the parks and Sunnyhurst Woods. The annual music festival has been a successful, positive improvement to the town, but the obvious tourist attraction is the Jubilee Tower.
It is an impressive sight from a distance, but to appreciate it fully, it is necessary to make the journey there and to enjoy the panoramic views from the top and from Winter Hill as a whole.
The problem here, of course, is that, in a year, only a smattering of the population actually make that journey, although if it was easier to get there, visitors to the Tower would increase many times.
I am suggesting, then, that this journey could be made much easier and be a great experience all round if there was a train to take people to the Tower.
Local elderly or infirm people would relish the opportunity of re-visiting the Tower, but the potential for attracting tourists to the town from outside the immediate area could be phenominal.
Darwen is easily accessible to people from Manchester, Bolton, Preston and East Lancs by train. If they could come out of the station and step onto another train either there or at the Circus, the adventure would start there for them. They would be taken through the town centre, up Borough Road, through Bold Venture Park and over the moors. It could be an amazing trip and experience.
A cosy cafe at the top would do a roaring trade and visitors could be encouraged to visit the town centre to buy local delicacies and souvenirs, have a meal, take in a concert or play at the Library Theatre etc etc.
An influx of visitors new to the area could have an enormously beneficial financial effect on the whole town and local areas. New jobs would be created and new investment attracted.
Obviously, there would be huge finacial implications initially, but surely there are grants and sponsorship opportunities available for a project like this which could revitalise a whole community. Another Jack Walker may be somewhere in the background waiting for an opportunity to make an everlasting, positive contribution to the town. Apart from the financial side, there may be environmental issues and concerns from local hikers and runners. Certainly these issues should be discussed, but they should be able to be overcome by a positive approach and some imagination and open mindedness.
To build such a railway may not be as difficult as first imagined. A railway was built over the moutains of the Isle of Man and to the top of Mount Snowdon over a much higher incline and over much worse terrain and there are other recent projects far more costly and involved such as Manchester's tram system and even the ring road around Blackburn.
Via your newspaper, it would be interesting to know what real "Darreners" think of this idea and if there is any support to instigate the idea with local government and with MP Janet Anderson.
You are invited to view my blog connected to this subject at http://traintothetower.blogspot.com
