REPORTS of the demise of Britain's traditional high streets and the impact on small traders from supermarkets has focused attention sharply on small towns such as Bromsgrove.

An all-party Parliamentary Group for Small Shops recently painted a gloomy picture when it said retailers may cease trading as soon as 2015.

Many shopkeepers are being squeezed by the sky-high rents paid to faceless landlords and competition from larger rivals and supermarkets.

And the Federation of Small Businesses is calling on local councils to examine their parking prices and policies.

Better, cheaper parking encourages town centre trade, it has concluded.

In Bromsgrove the number of vacant shops has increased in the past six months. The effect on the street's appearance prompted the leader of the district council, Councillor Roger Hollingworth, to observe at a meeting last month that 'Bromsgrove is beginning to fade.'

A quick look around High Street last Friday revealed more than a dozen empty premises.

Peter Michael, the district council's economic development officer, said town centres throughout the UK are facing big challenges from various quarters including supermarkets and internet shopping.

Warning that the clock cannot be put back to the days when it was said all one's needs could be purchased in High Street, he said: "The council is working urgently on plans to revive High Street."

However, those plans have yet to be published.

He added: "Modern consumers want shops reflecting contemporary demands and that is what the council is planning to facilitate."

Anita Mears, chairman of trader's group BroMark, is optimistic. She said: "The empty shops represent 12 business opportunities in a town which will have much to offer. The council has plans for a town centre development which we hope will make it the busy bustling town it once was."