Sir - North Parade had a Post Office, Gimbles, a place where children swarmed to buy sweets and a community meeting place for the elderly local population who came to bank, collect pensions, buy stamps or chat with neighbours. North Parade is refreshingly free of chains - a rarity as all high streets become clones of each other. It was once a traditional village high street, but with the advent of supermarkets, many of the shops gave way to galleries and gift shops. The village atmosphere still remains.

There is still a traditional ironmongers, Broughtons where you can you get every kind of light bulb and expert advice as well. And North Parade has two pubs: The Rose & Crown and The Gardeners Arms. Like all community pubs in England, both are fighting for survival, but for the many living alone, the local post office or community pub is an essential part of life.

The loss of Gimbles has been a huge blow to the footfall of North Parade; the traders benefited enormously from the custom of people who had just come by to go to the post office.

The North Parade Traders' Association has sought help from the city council to redress this loss, but unfortunately the re-opening of the post office is in the hands of Royal Mail who seem to have little interest in what benefits a community. Other measures are being considered, but what happens with the demise of Gimbles will affect the future of all of the North Parade traders and residents.

If Oxford does nothing, places such as North Parade will disappear and Oxford will become part of the growing monoculture - soulless chain shops, cafés and bars. We must encourage the city council and city planners to support the traders in Oxford's unique North Parade.

Marianne Moxon, Oxford