SAVE OUR SMALL SHOPS CAMPAIGN

That this House warmly welcomes the London Evening Standard's Save Our Small Shops campaign, which is seeking to halt the spread of clone high streets across the country and to protect small independent shops; notes that if planning policy is not changed the remaining small shops that give high streets their character will vanish; and calls on both the Government and local authorities to do more not just to protect the remaining small retailers but also to put in place the conditions to allow an increase in the numbers of independent shops.