Money talks so I'm fairly sure Peel Holdings will sort it out
Chicken and Egg I'm afraid. Retailers aren't going to move in unless the people are going to spend money. The nature of the town at the moment is that it's a magnet for every waif and stray the dodgy landlords will be able to claim housing benefit off. The best thing the council can do is create jobs rather than shops, and clamp down on dodgy landlords. That way the town can regenerate it's own wealth and the attraction for retailers becomes better.
I'm afraid thats not going to happen because there's a white elephant to buy first