It is a sad day for Brighton now that Hanningtons, the long-established department store in North Street, has finally shut.

Hanningtons is almost as old as its famous neighbour the Royal Pavilion and, to many Brighton people, just as much an institution.

But as an independent store in a creaking old building, it had become an anachronism and could not survive.

Wisely, the people who run Hanningtons decided to get out while the going was good. People will have fond memories of the store rather than seeing it going into a long, sad decline.

It's likely that the frontages in North and East Street will be snapped up by smaller shops more in tune with the times.

There's every hope that the upper floors could be used to provide housing as has happened on the other side of North Street.