Retail consultant and TV personality Mary Portas has been hired by the government.
Ms Portas will carry out a review that the government hopes will help identify the problems facing the High Street.
It is intended that the review, which will be published later this year, will include recommendations to help reduce shop vacancies and help independent retailers thrive.
Ms Portas said: “I am calling on businesses, local authorities and shoppers to contribute their ideas on how we can halt this decline in its tracks to create town centres that we can all be proud of.”
It is thought that the review process will see Ms Portas travel around a number of town centres across the country, hosting public events.
Ms Portas is not the first ‘celebrity’ appointment made by the government. Property presenter Kirstie Allsopp has previously worked with then-shadow housing minister Grant Shapps on speeding up the process of buying a home.
