I WAS very struck by the Echo Opinion on the matter of the decline of our high streets (January 10).

This is indeed a highly perilous situation. Going by the rate of close downs and empty stores I don't think we should be surprised if our high streets as we know them have entirely gone in ten years.

They will simply not exist – as 90 per cent of village communities in the country no longer exist.

Nobody quite saw it happening, but it did – schools closed, pubs closed, shops closed, communities collapsed – replaced by the holiday home brigade.

As for our high streets, the issue is overwhelmingly, along with the escalating rise in on-line buying, the huge rates and lease costs that traders have to pay. That beyond all other reasons is why we lose so many independent businesses.

But the landlords? No problem. The high street goes they sell the properties for flats. Little different really to the property market in the rural villages – market “forces” displace and destroy community.

However, all is not a lost cause, at least in our high street, Ashley Road. A large-scale community effort is being launched with very good support from our council and major stores which, we hope, will make a difference.

All very much in line with the Mary Portis report – we need to value our high streets and do our very best to support them before we are left with nothing but concrete five miles out of town mega stores.

JEFF WILLIAMS, Jubilee Road, Parkstone