High Street in peril as 12,000 shops shut in a year

Aggressive supermarket expansion, poor planning controls and low investment could wipe out hundreds of British high streets, it is claimed.

Almost 90per cent of all new shop space given planning approval last year went to the big four supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. Many of these developments are either out of town or on the edge of towns with their own parking, sucking shoppers and sales away from small independents.

More than 12,000 independent shops closed their doors in town centres in 2009, according to research published by the Association of Convenience Stores(ACS).

As a result some one in seven shops in high streets across the country now stand empty, providing a magnet for vandalism and graffiti.

Source : Sean Poulter - Mail online