Stop talking high street down

A FEW weeks ago a branch of a well known fast food chain opened on our local high street.

- SUSAN LEE

ALL CHANGE: How life looked in 1971

The reaction of my fellow residents was, to put it mildly, mixed.

Some hated the idea, arguing the move would create litter. They worried about parking problems and fretted whether gangs of noisy kids might gather outside its doors.

Others loved the news. It filled an empty shop unit and while not everyone's bucket of chicken, surely the opening added to the town's eating out offer - so what was wrong with that?

For me, the chain's arrival spoke more about the changing face of the high street than it did about the rights and wrongs of enjoying a finger lickin' meal.

In the last few years we've seen a slew of bank branch closures where I live. Last week Santander announced it would shut in May.