THE recent hoo haa over the closures of big chain stores left me feeling rather nonplussed.

Let’s be honest, these businesses are profit-making enterprises which follow the money.

I think that because they have been fixtures on our streets for years people come to think of them as kindly, public services rather than enterprises trying to squeeze as much money out of us as possible.

I feel for shop workers who lose their jobs but one plus point is that it opens the way for locally-owned shops to fill the gap.

Their profits are circulated in the community rather than the big nationals taking profits offshore.

Mrs S Hall, Chester-le-Street