Sir – Your article about more shops to support the expansion of Wantage over the next 15 years does seem to make some rather unjustified assumptions.
The way people shop has changed markedly over the last few years and high street shops have been severely undermined by online Internet shopping.
Unless this trend is addressed and a solution found, shops in the town centres will continue to suffer due to their higher overheads of rent and rates than a large warehouse full of Internet goods..
Incidentally, one of the proprietors of a recent shops that closed in Wantage informs me reliably that the landlord put up the rent in the wake of Wantage winning a town centre award. I know landlords don’t generally have a good name but they must do their bit if Wantage is to flourish by keeping rents at a reasonable level.
Also, perhaps a case can be made for lowering the normal business rate in historical town centres in order to preserve them.
Terry Randall, Wantage
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