Lancashire nostalgia in 1973: Preston car ban; free holiday meals; and PNE directors must act

Car ban in town ‘a must for the future’

The day is coming when the private motorist will be barred from Preston town center in favour of a new and more sophisticated public transport system, Preston Corporation’s chief planning officer Mr Philip Goring predicts.

He told members of Preston Trades Council: “I see no future for Preston town centre unless priority is given to public transport at the expense of the private car."

And he added: “I foresee the day when I will either walk to work, come on a bike or catch a bus.”

Within the next 25 years the town centre would simply not be able to cope with all the cars bringing in office workers to the town centre. He told the trades council delegates that he would guess that the present 20,000 people working in Preston town centre would jump to at least 35,000 within the next 25 years.

Private motorists would mostly not like the idea, he said, but public opinion was moving that way. Car parks were ugly, costly and used up valuable space. If there were fewer cars, there would be fewer fumes, fewer accidents and a better environment.

Free school holiday meals bid is the Conservative’s promise

Lancashire’s Tory education chairman has promised an investigation to find out how many schoolchildren go hungry during the holidays, if he is elected to the new county council.

If he is a member of the new deduction committee Ald. Jack Ashton will raise the question of free meals for children during school holidays. The problem has caused controversy in the present education committee during the last year.

The row centred on Kirkby, where meals were provided at school during the Christmas holidays.

The local urban council recommended that meals should be provided again during the Easter holidays but the county education committee rejected the scheme and decided to pass the problem to the social services committee.

But now Ald. Ashton, who was away in France on a school trip when the education committee last met, has authorised the provision of meals in the holidays for children who normally get free meals during term time.

Ald. Ashton made his decision because it became clear that the social services committee would not be able to complete its investigations of the problem before the Easter holidays began on April 16.

Ald. Ashton is a candidate for the new county council in the Tarleton area, where he lives.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week we looked back with archive pictures from 1972

As North End escape relegation the board of directors must act

It was a champagne occasion at Deepdale... for Burnley, who won the Second Division Championship as a result of the point they took in the 1-1 draw.

But there was no cause for celebration for Preston, even though they escaped relegation to the Third Division by the skin of their teeth.

Caretaker manager Frank Lord admitted afterwards when he said the club would have to be reorganised during the summer and it is believed some of the more progressive directors have been working on this.

Naturally, they and all the North End supporters in the crowd of 21,550 were pleased that Preston had held Burnley, but their 24th point of the season in the last game of the campaign was only the seventh collected in 1973.

In fact, Preston have won only twice in 23 League matches since being fourth in the table at the start of December.

This kind of form is nowhere near good enough, and, as Lord said, there must be a big improvement next season.

Any demonstration of protest against the PNE directors was drowned in the general euphoria, but North End’s problems remain as big as ever and it is hoped no one is complacent.