By Paul Gerrard

Britain’s small shops are disappearing unless Government acts now.

You can feel it as much as you can see it when you walk down almost empty high streets, around local precincts or along small parades - empty shops, shuttered stores, quiet precincts and corners where there used to be life.

For decades, small shops have been at the heart of communities. They provide jobs, opportunities and, for many, a sense of belonging. Yet new research from Co-op shows how fragile things have become. Sixty thousand small shops and 150,000 jobs could disappear without urgent action on business rates relief.

A staggering 7 in 10 small business owners say reform is essential to survive. Almost 70 per cent of the public have no confidence that the Government will deliver it.

That should........

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