Stop the corporate takeover of Greenwich town centre

The latest casualty of the exorbitant retail rents charged by Greenwich Hospital is the excellent vintage shop Joli, closing down this week. We understand Greenwich Hospital has to make money for its charitable concerns but, with imagination, this can be done without destroying the livelihoods of small local businesses and without ignoring its responsibility as custodian of a special part of London. Pricing out independent shops is counterproductive. Greenwich is a place valued by locals and visitors for its heritage and unique character. That will be lost if it goes the way of most high streets in the UK and becomes an identikit mass of chain stores. We call on John Healey, Deirdre Mills and vice admiral Martin Connell, respectively the trustee, director and advisor of Greenwich Hospital, to stop this happening.