IN preparation for my attempt at the Rossendale Sprint Triathlon on June 5, I’ve realised, as I plod and wobble around on my bike, how much more of the valley you see than when you’re driving – and there are some run-down areas. However bitter in defeat I may be – I fully support new council leader Alyson Barnes in her desire for regeneration.

However, regeneration is easier to type than do and if I am being honest, I don’t have much clue how to set about it.

We are not some ‘uber cool’ part of South East England nor are we a tourist hotspot.

We are a small borough in the Northwest competing with bigger boroughs and unitary authorities for attention and funds. Over the years I have been involved in some complicated and convoluted matters, but none as complicated as the saga that is the Valley Centre.

Tony Swain did some fabulous work trying to resolve and move the matter on.

Unfortunately the public did not see this work. I do hope Alyson takes the baton and runs with it.

To me this regeneration is not just about getting a pot of money and sand blasting a few houses or putting up railings.

As a valley, with most of the development at the bottom, there is no cost-effective way of improving the transport.

What would transform the valley is the rail link but I’ll save this rant for another column.

We are hardly likely to have any riots so we can forget money being chucked at us for that – I have an idea on this front; if we parents made our kids wear sensible coats we’d soon have a riot on our hands.

Over the last couple of days I have seen Alder Grange pupils (including my own) traipsing through the rain with hardly a waterproof between them.

I’m told it’s not ‘cool’.

Bring back Duffel coats that’s what I say – so begins ‘the Valley Duffel coat riots’.

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