What makes a vibrant town? Often it’s the people behind the businesses who work extremely hard to enhance the landscape.

One of my many joys strolling through Cowes on route to Manny’s for a morning coffee and Pastel de Nata is passing the beautiful display of fruit and veg lovingly arranged each morning outside Rosalie’s of Cowes.

Alas, it is no longer there.

Wondering why, I enquired, and was told that the council wanted to not only charge the owner more money to display fruit and veg outside her shop, but also insisted public liability insurance was raised from £5million to £10million. 

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God forbid anyone trips over a lettuce! Sadly the additional cost is simply too much for the business to bear. 

I mean, really? Has the Isle of Wight Council completely lost the plot? 

Rosalie’s daily display brings Cowes alive.

The council should be paying Rosalie for the stunning contribution she makes to the town, not beating her into the ground. 

Perhaps Cowes town councillor Richard Quigley can knock a few heads together on the Isle of Wight Council and find a way of sort this idiocy out.

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