Telford Shopping Centre manager Chris Jones believes the centre's success is down to a proactive approach to filling empty shops - using temporary tenants that can be moved around the centre to take empty spaces and offering lower rates and flexible terms for new businesses.
States Works began temporary repairs at 07:00 BST by filling the hole in the road with rubble taken from the site of the recently demolished Les Beaucamps School building.
Employers have also realized they can scrape by with fewer workers, so instead of filling empty jobs with full-time staff, they rely on temporary or contract employees.