Make high streets a real destination

THE loss of yet another big name means our city centres risk turning into ghost towns.

It isn’t just the empty store fronts – which make places less attractive to other businesses – that do the damage. It’s hundreds of pay packets not being spent in local economies.

I can also see why the internet is performing so well when it comes to online shopping. It is so easy to buy something while sitting on the sofa. But if I spend a pound at a shop in town, there is a good chance that it will get spent again, and near me.

Shop local and keep our high streets somewhere we’d like to go. Sally Markar-Brown, Leeds The news that my local House of Fraser was one of the stores to be axed is terrible. Like hundreds of places across the country, retail is often the only place left for people to get jobs. Now a few hundred families will be facing down the barrel of a gun and wondering where the cash for next month’s bills are coming from. Politicians tell us that the country is too London focused. I agree, but if there are no jobs outside of the capital then what do they expect to happen? George Whitehouse, Skipton, North Yorks So, House of Fraser is yet another store closing down nationwide. Is it a shame? Of course, it is. Apart from the fact that there are so many people who love to go to town to do a bit of shopping, there are hundreds of hardworking shop workers being dumped on the dole with very poor prospects of finding employment.

Who’s to blame? Well, the store itself surely. Walk down any high street in any major town or city and make a list of the shops that have closed down. Then make a list of the stores with items available online. Not much difference, I expect. Phil German, Aberdare Mid Glamorgan My high street used to be a real local destination. On a Saturday you’d go to meet friends, get essentials or go to the cinema or for dinner.

During the week you might stop by on the way home from work for a new pair of tights or something to wear to a party.

But all that is gone and we’re left with nothing anyone wants to visit. Bookies and charity shops give the town a scuzzy and unwelcome feeling. So now we drive to a shopping centre, but with the rise of the internet who knows how long that will last? Anne-Marie Donovan, Luton, Beds

Job losses are always a tragedy but the truth is businesses like House of Fraser and Maplin are going bust because they can’t compete with shopping online. It is often cheaper and it’s more convenient.

I can get something delivered to my house or work overnight after reading hundreds of reviews to find out if it is right for me. No big oldfashioned store can compete. Sarah Morrison, Slough, Berks Rather than fight for the scraps of big chains, towns should follow the example of places like Liverpool and Newcastle. Fill the city centre with restaurants, museums and cinemas. People won’t come as often to shop, but they will to socialise. Harry Grainger Alnwick Northumberland