Burnley Wood

[Kiki]

We drove through Burnley Wood today there is a great big digger in the middle piling up the soil. Maybe making room for new housing or whatever? Branch Road is full of boarded up houses with metal doors just as the majority of shops are on Oxford Road . Sussex Street now has fine views of Pendle , soon to be lost again by the new buildings .Sad to see the once little Palaces to some,looking forlorn!

[rafa]

Yes they have begun the process of rebuilding the Burnley Wood area, but got a funny feeling the houses they build will be beyond the price range of most of the area to afford.

[Brian]

@Kiki

They are preparing the land for the new bungalows being by Calico to replace Gerald Court a warden controlled sheltered housing complex

The houses on Branch road have been purchased by the council for demolition under Elevate HMR with new build planned for late 2009 (subject to change either way)

The price of new houses hasn't been fixed yet but a decent three bed house with garden and parking space in other areas costs about £180,000,

The new proposal is for home owners to be given an equity loan instead of a grant to help them buy a new home, unfortunately most of the homes being demolished are rented property and tenants are unlikely to have the money to buy a house in the first place!!!

Brian:Banane51:

[Kiki]

Well! its a difficult thing to judge i suppose!but i think it might have been better to save lots more of the older houses. As they are doing in other area,s of Burnley. It does make you wonder who will be the owners of the new houses?

[Kiki]

Just remembering the shop owners on Oxford Rd I would often buy a quarter of American cream soda from the top shop on Oxford Rd. Or peer into Mrs Binn,s sweetshop glass containers that had lots of different sweets. Miss Websters shop that had knitting patterns ribbons, underwear and nice things you could order from cataloges. Cant remember the hairdressers ? Mrs Taylors springs to mind she had a pet monkey who sat on the roof!
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[Brian]

I was born in a flat behind the shops opposite St Stephens, I remember the chippy and mum sending me will a bowl for a threepenny mixture (chips & peas) for my tea. also there was an electrical shop on the same block where my dad bought one of the first TV's in our area, the owner had a Morris Isis car and he paid me a shilling (bob-a-job) to wash it every Saturday.

I used to help deliver milk around Burnley Wood with a local farmer in a pony and trap, no milk bottles every body had their own milk jug and we had a measure that we filled from a churn on the back f the trap, The farmer had a Great Dane that was as big as the pony, which used to accompany us on the rounds

good old days

Brian:yelrotflmao:

[Kiki]

As children in the fifties , we used to play out all day in the fields around Towneley. Playing jump the stream or on the swing over the stream.Where the mud came from ,that the housemartins built their nests under the eaves of the houses nearby!The old slabs from the grey hound track, mostly laid on the ground was another play area.The orange river above the stream had sticklebacks we would catch with a net on a piece of bamboo.Years later talk ing to my husband who lived nearby too, we used to bury our dead birds at the same spot. How romantic! The allotments were busy , i used to sit in my Dad,s wheelbarrow and he would push me along in it. I had my own little garden up the road from where we lived in the allotment with the tunnel and stream.

[Brian]

Been there done that, got the video and tee shirt are we related?, the old dog racing track was a favourite place for me some of the slabs were still standing in the late forties, it served as a castle and a fort depending on whether I was a cowboy or a legionnaire.

We used to swim in the pool near the Bluebell wood and camp out on an island in the middle of the stream just this side of the bridge.

The allotments alongside where Sr Stephens school is now had o green house with a massive grape vine inside.

Brian:Banane59:

[jaseyboy]

meh, its sad the way certain areas are going downhill fast.........

[Brian]

@jaseyboy
That was true a couple of years ago but the area is on the uphill climb now, loads of building starting, a new park for the kids, two multi-purpose flood light football pitches, a new Children's Centre, cleaner streets and the community spirit is now very evident.

Brian:lightbulb:

[jaseyboy]

yes, but how long before the gang culture of some of the younger resident resurfaces and ruins all the hard work? its a shame really...

[Kiki]

Originally Posted by Brian

@jaseyboy
That was true a couple of years ago but the area is on the uphill climb now, loads of building starting, a new park for the kids, two multi-purpose flood light football pitches, a new Children's Centre, cleaner streets and the community spirit is now very evident.

Brian:lightbulb:

Good! it was a nice community, and i hope it is again!

[Brian]

Originally Posted by jaseyboy

yes, but how long before the gang culture of some of the younger resident resurfaces and ruins all the hard work? its a shame really...

We have a zero tolerance approach to crime, graffiti and antisocial behaviour in Burnley Wood that works, we target individuals and prosecute every time

Brian:goodnight:

[Kiki]

dO you remember the youth club we had lots of old people looking after us then , sadly thats not the same today?