Cheeky, You are logical but landlords of commercial properties often are not. Believe me, a lot of us have been asking why, when traders can't afford them, the owners of our parade still keep pushing the prices up. Answer comes there none.
Yes, I heard the explanations at the meeting over the White Wood shop but I am keeping an open mind on what really happened. I do not always believe what I hear at these meetings. Everybody is trying to put the best face on things, after all, and it is a bit of a PR exercise.
But I quite agree that reviving a shopping parade is not easy. If, however you are wondering why there's nobody walking on the parade at 6pm, that's probably because some of us are starting to knock an evening meal together from all the stuff we bought earlier locally, or during our once-a-week trip to the supermarkets, which we then froze or kept in the fridge. Not all of us buy food daily. Some of us may even be rooting in our gardens at that time, in between the showers. Then again, we may be with friends, or getting ready to go out later. This is a suburb, not central London.