His call came after meeting some of the independent traders at Burgess Hill Town Council on Friday.

Mr Soames said: "I was very grateful to the independent traders for taking the trouble to come to the meeting.

"It remains my view that small shops are the backbone of vibrant and diverse shopping facilities and we need to do more to help them at a very difficult time.

"Our small shops in Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Haywards Heath greatly add to the vitality and life of the local communities.

"Indeed small businesses are crucial to the economic health and viability of our towns. If they suffer so do the communities."

Mr Soames said: "My conclusion after meeting with them and also after other Conservative colleagues had a similar meeting in East Grinstead, is that more thought needs to be taken by local authorities in respect of layout and design and of business friendly policies including parking to sustain the footfall for these businesses.

"I shall be writing to the district council with some ideas and I will be holding further discussions with small businesses and representatives in the future."

After the meeting Mr Soames went to meet with representatives of the Burgess Hill Business Parks Association.

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