Pity poor Chepstow, dubbed the 'worst high street in Wales' against some pretty stiff competition.
At first it looks like a typical tale of declining high street fortunes in the days of internet shopping, but this,
She explained she visits neighbouring Monmouth and Abergavenny and said signs of the pandemic have “almost completely disappeared there”. “But not here..."
suggests the problem is more specific to Chepstow and a glance at the first comment gives a clue,
"Part of the problem I suspect is that Chepstow has become a commuter town so many people who have moved to the area will shop elsewhere."
Yes, it's the removal of the tolls on the nearby Prince of Wales bridge AKA the New Severn Bridge that has done for Chepstow. House prices have gone up and the demographic has changed as the town has become a dormitory town for Bristol, just like that bridge long ago and far away in London where the removal of the tolls simply resulted in all the domestic rents going up to compensate. Meanwhile, no doubt, all the commercial rents on the High St are still at the levels set by the town's previous prosperity.
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