SIR: It was with great sadness that I read in the Chronicle of April 12 of the closure of Wilds Sports.

It is yet another example of the loss of a very special independent shop which has served the community well for many years. It was a shop that provided help and assistance for parents and then older children alike.

I suspect that much of the problem lies through systems such as Amazon and the difficulty for private independent shops to match their power. It could be said that that is a measure of the times.

However, one of the attractions of Winchester was the fact that it had independent shops of this nature, but now the steady loss of these shops plus the awful and expensive parking arrangements is driving many people away from Winchester, other than tourists.

The short-sightedness of the local council both in terms of the rate charges and the constant warfare on cars is bringing about the end of Winchester as an attractive place to shop. The fact that Winchester for the time being has a number of attractive cafes is neither here nor there.

The times are indeed changing but Winchester will come to rue the loss of shops such as Wilds.

Nigel Goodeve-Docker,

Chilbolton