I too walked the High Street from the Yacht Club yesterday lunchtime to the Town Hall where I had a meeting to go to.
I have been in some pretty run down places in my time, Holywell in North Wales particularly springs to mind, but rarely have had such a depressing walk.
From the very underpass with the beggar, past closed shops right, left and centre, Boots and W H Smith hanging on by their fingertips, M&S almost deserted.
The retail 'offer' seemed mainly aimed at exploiting poor people with pawn shops and such as BrightHouse ripping people off with usurious interest rates.
Why we don't take a leaf out of Dante's Divine Comedy and erect a sign at the entrance to the underpass written 'All hope abandon ye who enter here' I just don't know!
On the plus side Wetherspoons seemed to be doing OK.
Of course the new improved water feature mooted by the Town Team recently might just be the catalyst for the regeneration we have all been waiting for?