AT long last, the Ribble Valley's answer to London's Jubilee Line extension is complete and, true to form for such projects, late and massively over the original £300,000 budget.

At least the Jubilee Line provides a useful new transport link, but the new Clitheroe interchange hardly improves anything except that it creates an expensive new shed to house what could have easily been put in part of the existing station building.

There was plenty of space for more commodious bus stands closer to the original attractive Victorian railway station, but perhaps that would have been too cheap and efficient.

It may also not have caused maximum inconvenience to the milkmen's dairy just across the road, or any traffic using the main route to Longridge.

Perhaps the passing trade to and from Longridge may now avoid Clitheroe altogether, especially after the one hour parking charges increase by 5p, and now you need at least two fiddly coins instead of one.

You already need a tin opener to find a parking space on the streets during winter, and even more waiting restrictions are planned, but perhaps seasonal tourists are now more important than locals in the estimation of transport 'experts.'

With a little thought and interchange of ideas, the original £750,000 on offer from central government could have revolutionised access to public transport in the Ribble Valley, but it would appear that well over half may have been wasted on an ideological white elephant.

Chatburn was promised a new timetable information board, but as the parish council also thoughtfully asked for a much-needed replacement for the 40 year old village centre bus shelter to put it on, it got neither.

However, a quick glance at the latest timetable reveals that there is no Chatburn bus connection for the first two morning Manchester trains and they involve a change at Blackburn. The return rail/bus interchange times are also pretty inconvenient, leaving a long wait in the cold unless the incoming train is very late arriving.

The local bus fares are higher than the running costs of a brand-new small car, so even for a single person, it is probably cheaper to drive into Clitheroe and park on the too-small 'free' railway car park.

However, the apparent oversight on the timetable may be due to the same style of 'mathematics' responsible for the £184,000 overspend on the interchange.

Why spend money on cosmetic improvements, when cheaper bus fares and more frequent services could probably attract far more regular passengers?

The same probably applies to Hyndburn, where the expensive new bus station would appear to be far less useful than the old one and perhaps many motorists avoid going anywhere near Accrington to avoid the congestion caused by the traffic calming.

Blackburn may soon be in a similar situation with the proposed plans for Church and Darwen Street. Perhaps the most subtle ingenuity could hardly devise local transport plans more misleading, or more certain of success in eventually destroying the small businesses which form the heart and soul of any community.

I believe that a combination of the new Billington "road safety measures" and new car park charges have already hit trade at shops in Whalley and the decline of trade in Accrington will probably get worse when the bus route through Baxenden is also obstructed.

G PYE, Downham Road, Chatburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.