THE celebration of Darwen Tower's 100th birthday last Saturday, was a disaster and a terrible shame.

As a resident, born and bred, of Darwen for 40 years, I am sickened by what the so-called Blackburn with Darwen Council is trying to do to the town.

I am convinced that the council is trying to make Darwen lose its own identity and be known as Blackburn South, not Darwen. Darwen should be Darwen, have its own identity and not be associated with Blackburn.

Unfortunately, when we lost our own council and became part of Blackburn, that was the slow death of Darwen and things have never been the same.

Most residents of Darwen do not want to be associated with Blackburn at all. On Saturday, people of Darwen tried their best to celebrate the birthday of Darwen Tower being 100 years old.

However, because we come under so-called Blackburn with Darwen, the council did their utmost to suppress this celebration.

What worries me is that if Darwen Tower belonged to Blackburn, the celebration of this event would have been the complete opposite. No expense would have been spared.

The tower should have been full of streamers and balloons and stalls etc, creating typical carnival atmosphere. The brass band should have been playing at the tower, not the town centre (just as it was 100 years ago when it opened) and it should have been a fun time not only in the town centre but also on the moors and the tower itself.

Most Darwen people feel the same as I do, but, unfortunately, a lot of Darwen people have lost interest because they know they have been bullied and beaten by a council who are not interested in the town at all. Last year, when it was a celebration of 100 years of freedom of the moors, it was a great success in the number of people who walked from the town centre to the tower.

Obviously, this was to Blackburn's disgust and no way did they want this repeating to mark the 100 years of Darwen Tower.

Darwen used to be a lovely little town, but now, many shops are having to close because of high rents, The three-day market is only half full, and the mood of the people of Darwen is at a low ebb. Why? I ask myself -- because of Blackburn with Darwen Council.

If you held a vote in Darwen as to whether people wanted to be part of Blackburn with Darwen Council or Darwen on its own, I am sure you would find that Darwen wants to be Darwen.

Whoever thought of the name Blackburn with Darwen wants his or her head examining -- it sounds ridiculous and is ridiculous.

Blackburn always comes first for anything being spent on. And Darwen? Well, that's at the back of the queue.

The council, I am convinced, are waiting for Darwen to crumble. They will have a long wait, as Darreners, will not let this happen. They are proud of their town, and won't let Blackburn lose its identity.

MRS BROADBENT, Radfield Road, Darwen.

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