Just seven years ago, taking a walk through the pedestrianised centre of Margate's retail hub was a rather gloomy experience.

If The Centre, a partially covered area just off the High Street, was designed to be the town's beating heart of its shopping experience it was on life-support and fading fast.

The drab, graffiti-strewn walls showcased a host of empty shop fronts.

Strolling into it from the nearby multi-storey car park led you past public toilets and a solicitors specialising in criminal law. It spoke volumes.

A signpost, perhaps most tellingly, directing the few passers-by just how they could quickly skip elsewhere.

But while it would be easy to point at it simply being an uninspiring 1970s relic in a town which had fallen in popularity over the years, the reality is it had experienced all the blows felt by high streets around the county and, for that matter, the country.

It's revival, therefore, is perhaps a clear indication that there is a way out of the malaise facing many of our town centres.

It, along with all of Thanet's main towns, had been hit hard by the opening of Westwood Cross in 2005. The out-of-town development sucked a host of major retailers out of nearby town centres leaving gaping holes and seeing footfall plummet.

Along with the ever-expanding range of goods offered by supermarkets and, of course, the explosion in online sales, it was struggling.

To make matters worse, while art was being used as the catalyst for regeneration in Margate, the areas seeing the benefit were those closer to the Turner Contemporary or along the town's seafront promenade and the revived Old Town.

Yet, today, the place is colourful and bustling. It has become something of a textbook example of deploying the widely-held theories of how the new breed of town centres need to look to survive and thrive.

The pulse of independent traders, imagination, and teamwork has brought it back to life - all driven by an aesthetic which has led to it being Instagram-friendly for the social media generation. Remarkably, given its moribund state, it is now fully let. In fact, when one retailer decided to move out recently, 15 enquiries were received to replace it within days, along with a handful of firm offers.

"I used to always call it the Costa cut-off," explains Ben Wykes, who moved into The Centre in 2019, "because you'd walk-up the first part of the high street where's there's a couple of bars, restaurants and hotels, but once you got past the old Woolworths and where the Costa was on the corner, it felt like no-one really dared venture up there.

"That whole section just felt a bit unloved and forgotten about."

He runs Modern Provider, a bakery which has grown since settling into the once drab site. And he is, if we're being honest, the embodiment of one of the reasons why Margate is enjoying a perhaps unlikely revival.

Formerly a designer with fashion brand Burberry, he quit to pursue a career as a baker and open a branch in the seaside town. He is a classic case of the DfL - the 'Down from Londoner'. Mock them at your peril; they bring fresh enthusiasm and investment.

"When we first came here," he recalls, "nothing was open around this bit. Everyone was asking why we were moving here. Now everything's let around us, it's really pleasing to see."

Today the tenants are a wide and varied bunch, from bakers to clothing to record stores and cafés. Shortly a new jazz bar is moving in. It's become that longed-for 'destination' shopping spot.

So just how did The Centre make such a remarkable comeback? And what can other centres learn from its revival?

Margate's decline certainly came ahead of many other towns - so the decay it saw in its retail centre was perhaps ahead of the curve. Once the South East's leading seaside resort, low-cost budget airlines had robbed it of its footfall and seen it deteriorate over the decades. Westwood Cross was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

In short, the town needed a reimagining.

While the Turner and Dreamland started the process of pulling people in, the town and its traders then needed to adapt to cater for them.

The Old Town - a short, easy stroll from the Turner - was transformed over time, albeit with stores which seemed to cater for the flush visitor. But could the magic of art-inspired regeneration stretch into the town centre? And cater for both the visitor and day-tripper?

Enter property company Evolve Estates.

In December 2017 it took over The Centre and set about plotting a new course.

Head of special projects at the firm is Natalie Sebastian, who was no stranger to Thanet.

"When we took it over," she says of the site, "problems identified were high vacancies and the perception of the town - which has obviously changed. And that it's a seasonal town.

"I remember what it used to be like. I grew up in Margate and knew it in the 1980s and 90s - so it was a special project. I saw the decline because of Westwood Cross when everybody vacated.

"We've just bought Swanley Square, at the opposite end of the county, and it's the same feeling we had when we started with The Centre. It's tired and whoever owned it before didn't really look after it. It just needs a little care and attention to generate interest.

"Everyone talks about the internet and how we don't need to go shopping any more. However, people want to have an experience. It's not about popping in and getting your milk and your bread like it used to be. If they want to go shopping they want a story to tell."

In short, you need a blend of interesting places which make people leave their keyboard and take to their feet.

Independent traders, by their very nature, provide that.

"National chains are great," she explains, "people know who they are, know what they're selling but it's the same every time. With the independents its something different.

"There was a government report published in 2006 and it warned that by 2015 town centres will be clone towns and result in the loss of the 'social glue that binds communities together'.

"That was recognised, but nothing really happened."

The Centre's glue had clearly come unstuck. The method adopted to revive it, after consulting with both existing and prospective tenants, was to be bold.

From grey concrete walls, bright paint was deployed on units and even the street furniture. That signpost pointing elsewhere is now bright pink. You're tempted not to follow its lead anymore.

"When we first took over," she adds, "the main high street side had always been full, along with Boots, Poundland and Lloyds but in the pedestrian part leading up to Peacocks, there were at least six vacancies on one side.

"Everywhere else was empty; the mews was empty - the smaller units were all empty.

"That's when we decided we needed to give it an identity.

"We needed bright colours and we couldn't do a half job - we had to go for it and we did and it was the best thing as people could see we wanted to do something good there."

Remarkably, newlyweds have been known to head to the centre for photo shoots such is its visual attraction.

The next step was to start opening it up to independent traders - for many their first foray into the world of retail - and allow them the flexibility to turn the units into whatever they wanted.

Key was simply to get people in.

A larger unit was transformed into what is known as UpMargate - a space which allowed a number of different traders to move in. All - as with other units - promoting themselves heavily on social media, driving back the footfall.

Feedback from traders was sought by Evolve and acted upon to ensure the area kept pushing forward.

Adds Ben Wykes: "I think Evolve just want people who are going to look after the place and turn a closed-down area into an open one.

"They're not like the traditional owners who just say 'give us your money, we don't care who's in there'."

Ah, yes, money. Ask any retailer, and rent is likely to be high up their list of regular gripes. Pricing is, of course, a key component.

The baker adds: "The Old Town was the first place to get regenerated and this place got left because it was the furthest away from the sea.

"But the prices there went crazy. Because no-one wanted the units here, they were a lot cheaper."

Just take a look at Whitstable. Its popularity with DfLs has seen its town centre transformed. But landlords are no fools. And prices have risen to levels which have squeezed many out and set sky-high levels which will present a challenge to future tenants.

"We have to keep rents affordable and reasonable," says Evolve's Natalie Sebastian. "Tenants already have to pay business rates, which are high everywhere, and then energy bills. If they can't afford to pay all of it, then no-one's coming in.

"I think councils and people like us who own little pockets of town centres have to work together - and I think that's what has happened in Margate.

"It's not been without effort. It's not just a lick of paint. We talked to tenants, and the council."

The overall result? A remarkable, almost - if truth be told - unbelievable transformation.

"We're doing well," says Ben Wykes, "more than I though possible, in fact."

Cllr Reece Pugh, is deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development at Thanet District Council.

He explains: "The transformation of The Centre in Margate from a grey and neglected part of town to a colourful, vibrant and must-visit destination is a fantastic regeneration success story.

"The area brings together a broad cross-section of the community to socialise, shop and open new businesses. Much like in the Old Town, the business community is working closely together to attract local people and visitors all year round.

"Significant public investment and regeneration over the years in Margate is now seeing the private sector invest in their assets, which is always part of the ambition of public sector funding.

"The hard work that has gone into breathing new life into the The Centre complements the work that is being done as part of the £22.2m Margate Town Deal. There is now a great deal of optimism about the future of Margate with a strengthening pride of place and identity. The council is committed to continuing to attract investment to help build a stronger and more resilient local economy and make it an even better place to live, work and visit.”

And, frankly, if a once bleak and ignored centre in Margate can bounce back, then there's hope for everyone.