I'm wary of anyone who calls themselves "Maidenhead" and then starts telling us how nice places are! No offence intended, but assuming your name reflects a Berkshire town (and not a sexual preference) it's one I know very well. The Nicholl's Shopping Centre eh? "Shoppenhangers road" - Nah we talkin' eh? Oh man! I spend a lot of time in that area, fortunately not in Maidenhead town centre, although I have ventured into it on a few occasions lately. They've got a good shop that sells door locks (Balham's), that's all I can think of that's good about it. But within a short distance of Maidenhead there are some nice places - like Bray, where Rolf Harris lives!
Now...Hull. If you'd have come out with that post 2 years ago I'd have thought you were barking mad. But, strangely, I find myself slightly agreeing with you. I went to Hull last year and I can't remember what for now tbh, but I remember me and the missus having a wander round that renovated dock area and thinking...actually, this is quite nice. We even decided to stay and have dinner there. There were a lot of nice bars and quite upmarket eating places. Put it this way...nicer than anything Sheffield has currently got. Didn't Hull get some investment for city of culture or summat a few years ago? If so that's maybe what's transformed it so positively. I didn't reckon much to the plastic flowers in front of the Town Hall though.
You weaken your argument by using some poor Sheffield suburbs to attack Sheffield. You don't need to do that. Sheffield city centre is bad enough alone, without dragging Parson Cross and others into it. I walked down Pinstone Street the other day. I thought I'd pop into Maplin's for some electrical stuff before heading down to the bank on Fargate. Maplin's - GONE!. Note in the window saying, "we've closed down". In fact, several shops on Pinstone Street have closed down. Then there's a really scruffy looking charity shop opened. I'm afraid Sheffield city centre has an abundance of charity shops, nail bars and closed down shops. It's actually very poor, but don't tell Sheffielder's that because they'll tek thi art t' country and feight t' death, rather than admit it. They take it very personally. Let's hope this new "shopping centre" breathes a bit of much needed commercial life into the place. All I know as I drive past it, is that its looking like a film set from the Flintstones currently. Anyhow...
We'll see.