PLANS to build a new town centre retail complex to replace Accrington's outdoor market should be scrapped - according to traders who claim they have had no say in the scheme.

Traders at Accrington's 1960s covered market say plans to build one large retail store, along with six other shops and a smaller market area, will not attract shoppers.

But Hyndburn council today stood by its proposals and claimed stallholders had been given many chances to help shape the new development.

The traders say they do not want the entire outdoor market demolished, and instead suggest that only the front section of the market in Broadway be sold for shops. Money from the sale could be used to refurbish the remaining half of the market next to the bus station, they say.

Stallholders claim that although Hyndburn Council has invited them to numerous meetings, their suggestions have been ignored.

Furniture trader Peter Broadley said: "If these plans are the best the council can offer, we don't want a new market. We want this market doing up."

The council has approved plans to sell the site to Bilsdale Properties which looks after the part of the family fortunes of Blackburn Rovers owner Jack Walker. But traders say the £1.3million price agreed is far too little for the town's prime spot and want to know how much Bilsdale will invest. The traders are furious that the council has not announced how much money will be invested in the new outdoor market area, earmarked for a section of Accrington bus station which has now been closed off.

Below the current outdoor market there are extensive storage facilities which traders say would be lost. They say the only other space available is a small stone corridor under the Victorian market.

Butcher Greg Jopson, who represents the outdoor market traders at council meetings, said: "When this scheme was first mentioned nearly 10 years ago, we were behind it because it was an exciting plan with lots of shops and a new market square.

"But the plans have got smaller and smaller. This latest scheme is boring, it is poorly thought out and it will not bring people into the town. But the council seems determined to press on with it."

"The market is being pushed onto the sidelines next to the bus station. No one has explained how we will get access, where we will store things, or how people selling food will cope with bus fumes. "The price of £1.3million is a joke. The council say Jack Walker's firm will pay for the market to be moved, but nobody seems to know how much the firm is being asked to pay."

Coun Peter Britcliffe, leader of Hyndburn Council, said: "At every stage of the redevelopment, we have sought to consult with traders through the town centre regeneration board and the markets board.

"It is wrong to say that we don't welcome their input - our door is always open to good ideas and we have listened more than many other councils would.

"In business you either stand still or you fall behind. We believe our proposals will bring in new investment and more shoppers."

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