WE recently saw the reopening of Whiteley Shopping Centre after an expensive build to give the area a much-needed new shopping centre.

The previous shopping centre failed to attract enough business to survive, especially with the competition from Gunwharf Quays and the shopping centre at Hedge End.

I hope it does well as it has brought much-needed employment to the area, but it needs you, the shopper, to make it a success.

If you don’t make full use of this new centre it will close, as no store can survive in this economic climate with the huge rents, sky high rates and wages to pay.

I live in Shirley, which is a busy suburb of Southampton, but like many shopping districts it is struggling to survive.

Many of the stores have closed their shutters, some due to being part of larger chain stores who simply have gone out of business, others again through the lack of trade and high rents, rates and wages they were unable to survive to make a profit.

Shirley is a small area which now has at least twelve charity shops, many fast food outlets and the blight of empty shops.

The Government brought in Mary Portas as a shoppers guru to go around the country to try and put new blood and ideas to boost local shopping centres.

The sad thing is that it does not need an expensive shopping guru to know what is causing the decay, its all down to the shopper.

If you don’t get out of your comfy armchair and away from your Internet shopping, there won’t be any shops left to shop in.

It also needs greedy landlords and councils, who are charging huge rates and rents which are driving shops out of business, to help in this decline.

ANDRE SEMPLE, Southampton.