In recent years, campaigns have been galvanised to 'save the High Street'. It seems everyone has a view about how we can revamp our down-at-heel towns and cities. But are they missing the point? Veteran retailer Bill Grimsey argues that it is already too late. The High Street, that we have grown to know and love, is as good as dead already. The indisputable truth is British towns and cities are losing their identity and dying off. Independent stores that were once vital to the fabric of towns are disappearing at a rate of 50 shops a week. Some towns now have as many as 24 per cent of their shops shuttered. The time has now come to work out what happened, learn lessons from our mistakes and find a new way forward to make new and innovative use of our shattered town centres. "Have our shopping preferences created the High Street we now deserve?"