Editor´s letter

"I don\´t believe anyone can put their hand on their heart and say they don\´t care," wrote Mary Portas in the introduction to her report for the government on the future of the high street. High streets have changed beyond recognition in our lifetimes: local food shops have turned into gadget shops; family-run businesses have been replaced by chains; older names like Woolworth have gone. Beneath all the change is a slow but sure decline: town-centre vacancies have doubled in the last few years, as consumers spend as much away from the high street as in it.