I think it's really sad that anyone, included on this thread, chooses to cite the presence of a woman's refuge centre as a sad indictment of how an area is going to the dogs. Lumping in women who have been victims of years of abuse with offenders, bookies and payday loan shops as proof that point is unfair.
Is it such a stretch to consider that judges, doctors, police officers, bankers, lords and other 'respectable' people can be abusive to their partners, and that victims aren't all low class and 'fick'?
Perhaps fewer high streets would die if local councils relaxed the idiotic parking charges, and stoped hiking rents/rates? Perhaps if councils looked at how the global brandification of their town centre is removing the soul of the high steet, pricing independent shops out of business, and creating a bland identikit retail experience no different from any other within miles.
A charity shop is better than a boarded up shop, but a decently planned and thought out street makes more sense over time, and keeps villages/towns etc alive.