There are no two ways about it, Haverfordwest is struggling. Struggling to survive as a shopping centre and struggling to find a new identity in a rapidly changing world. ‘Harfat’ is not unique of course and we can see towns large and small across the country face the same issues.

This is not a new issue, the decline started with the coming of large supermarkets – first with Tesco’s creating a superstore at Portfield, then the other supermarkets building on the periphery of the town, all the while draining customers from the centre. And we loved it, we loved the wide selections available in one place, we loved the low prices, we loved the easy parking and the special offers.

Now the very stores that killed the town centre find themselves in difficulty as they try to compete with the huge international companies like Amazon which, because they pay no taxes here, sell us goods in even greater variety at even cheaper prices than the supermarkets – and we don’t even need to leave the house! And we love them too, we love them even as shops close and people lose jobs, we love them even as the money flows from the United Kingdom to the United States.

The type of shopping centre I knew as a child and young man has gone forever so we need to find a new way to help our town centre survive and thrive.