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Sustainable Communities Bill

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that in many cases inner city high streets are the new villages, because they are populated by people who do not want to go further away to a supermarket but want to have a baker’s shop, a fishmonger and a butcher on their doorstep, in their high street? The problem is not, as it is in many villages, depopulation, but rents that are too high because of the sheer popularity of those streets. However, it comes down to the same thing—it is difficult for people to get what they want, and what people in every village want, which is a high street that enables them to shop in independently owned local food shops serving local produce.