Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep them

The market moved to Wednesday and the shops' best day went with it

Planning permission for a flat above a shop takes longer than for a house

Empty units stay empty for a year because the landlord is waiting for a chain

Rent is due quarterly in advance, which a new business cannot fund

Business rates on the high street are higher per square metre than on the park

Rents were set when the street was full and have not come down

Residents drive past the high street on the way to the park

The bus stops on the ring road, ten minutes' walk from the shops

The council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street

The car park behind the street is unlit and unsigned

The library closed early on Saturdays and the café next to it lost its trade

Deliveries block the street between nine and eleven

The town's website lists shops that closed years ago

Charity shops pay lower rates, so landlords prefer them

Half the units are owned by people who do not live in the town

The retail park got its road built by the county; the high street got a consultation

Parking costs more on the high street than at the retail park, where it is free

Young families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pram

Events are organised by volunteers who are burning out

The one bank left and the older shoppers went with it

Traders' association meetings are attended by the same five people

Shopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came in

Shops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at work

Grants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease

Nobody counts footfall, so every argument is about impressions