THE Gazette has kindly allowed me to investigate its vast archive of photos.

This includes many photos of the town in previous eras and I have tried to retrace the point at which each original photo was taken with a photo of what the area looks like now.

In most cases the photographer is not named and no precise date is given but many of us will recognise the locations instantly.

This week, The Malls. This phase of the town centre opened in the eighties. The Owen Owen department store occupied the shop we know today as Primark.

By Raz Razzle