The chain restaurants is the fault of the public that choose to prioritise price over quality and ethics/morals. You can't blame the council for that.
As for the identikit blocks, well that's where they do have to step in. Look at St David's 2 and the apartments above them - they're discreet and add to the area.
There's nothing wrong with having high-rise apartments it's how it fits in with it's surroundings and it's multi-use occupancy.