Accrington is a small town in Lancashire, tucked away between Blackburn and Burnley. It is a typical old mill town with rows of terraced houses and shops, it also has many very imposing former mill buildings scattered around the area. Many of the old mill buildings have now been modernised, mostly into commercial accommodation and some into apartments.

In fact, if you exclude the new out of town shopping complex, the majority of the commercial property (real estate) in Accrington was built in Queen Victoria’s reign. There are many very magnificent buildings including the old Town Hall and the Market Hall, both of which are situated in the centre of town on one of the main thoroughfares, Blackburn Road. The newer pedestrianised area and covered precinct known as the Arndale Centre are the exception to the rule as they are far more ‘modern’, these areas are now the main shopping area for the town. By comparison to bigger towns and cities, Accrington’s heart is quite small but very well formed. There is however plenty of room for expansion and the local council have been looking into how they can incorporate larger shops into their precincts.

Accrington has many wealthy people who live in its catchment area and these people are not very well catered for in the shopping precinct. There are a few specialist shops in the trendy Warner Street area, including local celebrity hairdresser Paul Freely, who has coiffured the hair of many ‘A’ list ‘celebs’ both sides of the Atlantic, but there is still a definite shortage of niche shops and businesses.

Instead of following every other town centre with their rows and rows of the same old shops that are in every other town centre, I believe Accrington should embrace it’s roots in smaller shops and aim at being the Covent Garden of the North. Manchester is only 22 miles to the South of Accrington and Preston is 20 miles to the West. So there is no shortage of large shopping precincts for those that crave retail therapy.

In conclusion, Accrington is a quaint town with its roots well established in history, a history that should be embraced and used to make it stand out from the crowd. The town is surrounded by beautiful countryside in all directions and lovely villages with cosy pubs just waiting to feed and water tired shoppers on their way home from shopping. Accrington is the place to be if you have an idea for a niche business, whether in the retail or manufacturing industry, Accrington would welcome you with open arms.