Hi Hugo, I don't think being cynical is a problem, what you say is fact, that's the problem.
I like "character", even when I was younger, I remember being annoyed when the chemist on Rhos rd. changed to glass and aluminium, and the ultra modern houses were built on the front by Aberhod.
I think we need some older heads in the planning dept. the whole area has a Victorian/ old fashioned seaside resort feel, which I think draws the visitors, I am not stuck in the past, change is necessary but, needs done sympathetically.
And don't get me started on shop signs.....