Local authorities must do more to help small businesses in their area, it has been claimed.
According to Roger Culcheth, local government chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses, local authorities are not doing enough to safeguard the future of small retailers.
He said: "Planning decisions that benefit supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, draconian town centre parking restrictions and the closure of thousands of post offices are contributing to the death of over 2,000 small shops every year."
Mr Culcheth added that the FSB will lobby councils to "keep trade local" in the run up to council elections next month.
Among the issues the FSB are concerned with are finance, procurement and regulation.
Meanwhile, Mr Culcheth's colleague Simon Briault, has hit out at the government over tax proposals which he says are "a fundamental attack" on family-run firms.
Because of this, the FSB will fight the introduction of income shifting legislation "tooth and nail", he said.
