British Highstreet...

The Great British Highstreet, one of our beloved parts of heritage, but is it soon to be something of the past?
I certainly hope not. Admittedly I have never really had a high street in the traditional sense, yes my local town does have a high street but its littered with take aways, hairdressers, charity shops and bookies. There's not one bakers, or butchers or anything along those lines, all we have is one sad looking newsagent which is overshadowed by Waitrose on the corner. With shopping malls and out of town complexes the 'Great British Highstreet' is quite out of fashion.
But should we be loosing this heritage?? Food shopping seems to be getting more and more expensive and grocery markets seem to be springing up everywhere. Maybe we should be going back to buying local instead of the big conglomerates. Maybe the little butcher in the next town that managed to stay trading is the best option.
I was reading a report on the rise of rates for retailers on Drapers today, and if tax on Bricks and Mortar stores goes up again then how are independents going to survive. Are we condemning them to failure? What's the next step in getting our heritage back...