Retail guru Mary Portas has made clear the size of the task facing those who want to save high street shopping in the UK.

"With town centre vacancy rates doubling over the last two years and total consumer spend away from our high streets now over 50 per cent, the need to take action has never been clearer," she said as part of her review into the future of the UK's high streets.

"Although some high streets are thriving, most have a fight on their hands. Many are sickly, others are on the critical list and some are now dead. We cannot and should not attempt to save every high street but my findings have led me to believe that unless urgent action is taken, the casualties will only continue to multiply."

The internet, the supermarkets, out-of-town malls, in-town parking restrictions, high business rates, upward-only rent reviews and, more recently, the recession have all played a role in undermining the high street.

However, as Portas put it: "The recession is not the only cause of the decline and we shouldn't mourn the loss of poorly-run retail businesses that weren't able to adapt to our 21st century needs."

One of the key recommendations of her review is the setting up of Town Teams to manage high streets.

"Out-of-town centres curate a space, provide consumers with a clean and attractive destination, cheap parking, a healthy retail mix, things to do, and the right marketing to get them there in the first place," said Portas.

"In contrast, their high street competitors often have little to no management.

"Quite simply, our town centres evolved organically through the decade without adapting to the changing consumer. And as the crisis has hit they have had little vision or guidance to see them through.

"High streets," she said, "have a lot to learn."

Her report has been welcomed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Director-general Stephen Robertson said: "The three key words in the report are 'make things happen'," he said. "Let's see the best of these recommendations acted on quickly."