In his letter (February 5), Mr Plowman says he fears Brighton is becoming a ghost town because small shops are disappearing. He also complains about having to pay for parking his car in town.

Surprisingly, what he cannot see is local shops all over our country are closing down in favour of out-oftown megastores because we prefer to use our cars even for the smallest task, such as carrying a tin of paint or a pair of shoes.

If, as a society, we were to wake up to what is happening and reduce our complete dependence on the car, we might find some of our local shops returning.

-Giulio Oliviero, Brighton