The Campaign to Protect Rural England's report highlighting the loss of character and distinctiveness of small market towns is to be very welcomed (Citizen 24 March). As the Green Party have tried to show, the problems in towns across Britain are products of disjointed government policies that fail to see the big picture. Globalisation and centralisation, green lights for big business, and a cold shoulder to strong, local communities, all add up to the homogenized high streets and inhospitable townships emerging today. Local independent shops are being killed off and when they die, a whole range of local businesses that supply them with goods and services suffer too. Over 20% of local outlets such as grocers, corner shops, pubs, post offices and banks have closed over the last ten 10 years. Real progress lies in policies that make sense together, that weigh social and local considerations, and tax business at their true societal costs; in encouraging local councils to reject planning applications for more out of town supermarkets, and in ensuring that big businesses pay fair costs for importing goods from long distances and compete fairly with local business. The 'Local Communities Sustainability Bill' should be welcomed, as it would force the government to support our local businesses and services, such as small shops and post offices. We must halt the trend towards our towns losing their viatlity and coming to resemble 'ghost towns'.

Ivi Szaboova-Baxendale, Gloucestershire Green Party.