A community leader has thrown his support behind a report calling for the Government to implement changes to boost town centres.

Simon Craig, chairman at Barrow's Business Improvement District, has welcomed claims from MPs that the Government should consider an online sales tax to help secure the future of the high street.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLG) said dated policies and an unfair tax regime must be reformed to create an environment that will allow high streets and town centres to flourish in the future.

MPs said the Government needs to go “further and faster” to “level the playing field” by considering a sales tax, an increase in VAT, an online sales tax, and “green taxes” on deliveries and packaging.

Mr Craig said he 'absolutely supports these suggestions.'

He said: ”It is really good to see support for high streets and town centres coming from Members of Parliament.

“Something needs to be done about the current business rates in order to level the playing field between high-street shops and online retailers.

“I think it is great and it is fantastic to see MPs supporting the high-street.

“Now we need the full government's support to overhaul the current business rates impacting high-streets and town centres.”

MPs also said high street retailers must accept that they need to adapt and do more to offer what online cannot, focusing more on personal interactions and convenience.

Local authorities must also “get to grips with the fact that their town centres need to change” and create areas that are the “intersection of human life and activity”, the HCLG report states.

With online sales currently at 20 per cent and set to grow, the future for high streets and town centres is “increasingly bleak” with some formerly thriving shopping areas likely to become ghost towns unless the Government, councils, retailers, landlords and the local community act together to implement the recommendations, it warns.

HCLG Chairman Clive Betts said: “The growth of online shopping has changed retail in the UK, and the impact on high streets has been stark.

“It is likely the heyday of the high street primarily as a retail hub is at an end. However, this need not be its death knell.

“Local authorities must get to grips with the fact that their town centres need to change; they need to innovate, setting out a long-term strategy for renewal, reconfiguring the town centre and finding new ways of using buildings and encouraging new independent retailers.

“Business rates must be made fair. They are currently stacking the odds against businesses with a high street presence and this must end.

“Tax reforms are needed to level the playing field between online and high street retailers, and we urge the Government to investigate all the options in this area, including an online sales tax.”

High Streets Minister Jake Berry said: “We know high streets are the backbone of our economy and a crucial part of our local communities, and we want to see them thrive, both now and in the future.

“The Government has stepped up, putting a plan for the high street at the centre of the Budget, backed by £675 million cash investment to ensure that local high streets are able to adapt and thrive for generations to come.