Wales' longest high street has faced a number of challenging years in the wake of the decline in high street shopping. Twenty years ago Bangor high street was bustling with shops and people, but now it appears a shadow of its former self.

Over the years retailers have slowly dropped away, with a large number of shops left vacant. Looking back the decline of the high street began with the fall of Woolworths back in December 2008. Since then other major brands such as Debenhams, H&M and WHSmiths have left units or collapsed.

It is not only the big brands that have gone though, dozens of once thriving smaller business have been forced to shut up shop and move on. The city centre now finds itself riding increasingly choppy waves, with rife burglary issues forcing a police crackdown and even popular restaurants finding themselves asking for help.

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Some positive news has come for the high street in recent months though, when a local developer snapped up the Menai shopping centre, determined to bring it back to life. Though this has been a positive for the city, with one formerly empty shop already finding new tenants, some are concerned however, that it won't be enough.

Last year a new City Director was appointed for Bangor, Dr Martin Hanks, coming in with a revitalised enthusiasm and offering some bold plans for the city, including rebranding it the 'Heart of North Wales' with a goal of changing the city's image. One thing he did stress though was there's no quick fixes, and on that we agree.

Of course while you have the local council and councillors working on the issues, you also have the people that operate the businesses on the high street, each holding strong opinions about what's needed to be done. Many did not agree with some of the ideas being put forward by Dr Hanks, and instead had their own plans on how the high street should be recovered.

This leads nicely on to what it would take to bring Wales' longest high street back to life.

As a long term resident of the area, I always keep my finger on the pulse when it comes to Bangor, the city I grew up in, studied in, worked in, Bangor has been a central location for me for over 20 years. I have a vested interest in seeing it restored to, what I would refer to, as its 'glory days' - when I'd pick up pick and mix from Woolworths and spend my Saturdays visiting all the shops.

But deep down I know those days are gone, the world has moved on from the high street of my youth, but that doesn't mean that a positive future for the high street can't be found. I've seen this story from many different angles, and in turn, I've built so many ideas of what can be done - so here is what I believe it would take to bring Wales' longest high street back to life.

Unity

There are dozens of groups looking to bring life back to the high street, from those led by local business people, the city council, Gwynedd council, councillors and even just residents and far more often than not, they have differing views on what can and should be done. While I'm not here to say any of these views are wrong, it does cause a great deal of clashing between those involved.

These various disparate groups need to come together, they need to be willing to make that first step, to reach out to the other parties and they in turn need to be willing to do the same. Fixing Bangor will be a team effort, requiring the skills, knowledge and passion of a broad range of people, but someone needs to be willing to make the first step.

Fortunately, over the last year or so, we have seen this kind of action begin to take place with the Bangor City Centre Vision and Regeneration Project, headed up by councillor Nigel Pickavance. The group is focusing on finding new ways to draw people to the high street to get footfall up again, so far this has included a range of new events taking place- including the upcoming Bangor Summer Festival in August.

Let Go of Old Ideas

One statement I have heard a lot over the last couple of years is 'we want to make the high street how it used to be' - a lovely ideal in sentiment, but terrible in practice. Sadly, the pre-Amazon golden age of the high street has come and gone, shopping habits have changed and there is no going back to how things used to be.

What Bangor needs is a focus on what it can be become, a prime example of this is the nearby town of Caernarfon, which 20 years ago was seen similarly to how Bangor is now. In that time the town has turned itself around and has become a thriving scene for small, independent and artsy shops, Bangor needs a similar reinvention.

Quite what that reinvention might be isn't as easy to say. There has certainly been a rise in the number of small independent shops on the high street in recent years, and they will be a key part in Bangor's recovery and in defining what it becomes.

Bring Back Entertainment

Bangor's a student city for a large part of the year, but what exactly do those students have to do in the town, the answer, besides drinking, is very little. The city is in dire need of some entertainment, I'm old enough to remember the grand promises of cinemas and bowling alleys for Parc Bryn Cegin, which never came to pass.

The high street does have one award winning escape room, which has gone from strength to strength since opening, proving there is a demand for more interactive activities for people to go to. It feels like you can't go from one town to the next without finding somewhere offering hatchet throwing, even something as compact as that option would thrive thanks to the students alone.

Time

It may seem like an obvious point to add to this list, but I feel it is worth pointing out. Improvements aren't going to appear overnight, they are going to take time, and even some of the popular 'quick fix' ideas such as more free parking in the city centre won't simply resolve the issues.

Bangor's rejuvenation is going to take time, even if every major issue was resolved tomorrow, it would likely still be years before the high street became a semblance of what it once was. Those that want to see Bangor recover have to be willing to see it out, even if that could take five, ten or even more years, because every time someone gives up and steps away it makes it just a little bit harder to bring it back.

Wales' Longest High Street

Every town, city and even villages need their thing, for Wrexham it is the football club and its esteemed owners, for Abergele, Gwrych Castle and its short term celebrity residents, even Rhyl still holds on to its days as the premier beachside resort and has a stunning beach. Bangor has one thing no other city in Wales does, the longest high street and that fact needs to be front and centre.

Yes, the high street is not in the best state right now, but that doesn't mean people should straight up avoid it, they still need to be aware that it is the longest high street in Wales, and that should be reason enough for some to want to come.

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These are just the views of one humble journalist who has a great passion for his home city. I don't expect everyone to agree with my views, but I do hope it encourages you to stop and think what the future of Bangor could be.

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