“Island businesses are suffering enough” – that’s the key message to the Isle of Wight Council as the local authority tries to introduce a £225 charge for local businesses placing A-Boards outside their premises. Members of the Isle of Wight Council’s Licensing Committee recently voted in favour of regulating the placing of A-Boards on the public highway (i.e. the pavement) by requiring each business to hold a permit. Initially, it was only going to affect A-Boards over 1.5m high but will now include all sizes. Currently, no permission is required to place an A-Board on the highway but Island Roads stewards have powers to require the removal or relocation of any such boards that create congestion or are placed in such a way so as to cause a nuisance or a potential hazard to pedestrians or motorists. To the shock and horror of businesses, the Council is soon to demand the sum of £225 per permit in what has been marked a ‘money-making scheme’ by many. Newport Business Association – which is opposed to the new levy – says it is concerned the £225 charge will be an ‘unnecessary burden’ on some small retailers, who are already finding life challenging post-COVID. Andrew Tapsell, Chair of Newport Business Association, has said in a letter to the local authority:
“Whilst some businesses have obvious shop-fronts and signage, others occupy small buildings off the general highways, and some are restricted by building regulations and unable to erect signage. These businesses currently rely on A-Frames to publicise their presence. “We feel that a better approach would be for the Council to scrap the proposal, and instead offer all businesses official guidance and clarity on the positioning of A-Boards via your website, and for stronger policing of the A-boards throughout the Island by Island Roads. Information for the public on how to report a potentially dangerous, annoying or hazardous A-Board would also be welcomed”.
Ryde Business Association also appears to be opposed to the plans, stating that the plan is “another money maker at the cost of small local businesses”. In Shanklin, local business The Copper Kettle says that it was only last year that the Isle of Wight Council demanded an increase in the public liability requirement from £5million to £10million, resulting in increased premiums. They say they may have survived Covid, but they won’t survive the Council. Due to the change in the size of the A-Board included within the proposed permit scheme, a short period of consultation has now opened. Anyone wishing to make a comment should email [email protected] by Saturday 31st August 2024. An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has said:
‘’It is important to reiterate that this is not a public consultation as there is no direct change for the public to be concerned about. As you can appreciate the council needs to prioritise contacting and responding to those directly affected. This is a consultation period, not a decision and no plans have been decided yet. This will go through Full Council later this year for the final decision. This will take into account the responses we have received. The council can confirm that we have not only made contact with business through the Chamber but also business associations too. This is to ensure that a cross section of businesses from around the Island have been consulted. What is apparent from the comments we have received so far is that officers have a clear indication of the views the business community has towards this proposal. “You may also be interested to know that both Cllr Lucioni and the Chair of Licensing have requested this consultation to allow the businesses their right of reply.’’
How about every time something get stolen from a shop the shop can put a £225 charge to the council as they thought it was a good idea to remove CCTV from our streets
Perhaps there is an opportunity for SEN children here for when they leave schooling.
The could become ‘Sandwhich’ board advertising by wearing an A frame and walking the streets where the businesses who pay them are.
That way the council won’t be able to charge them and those who would otherwise be paid for doing nothing would earn a little to lower our taxes for keeping them.
Surely better than just walking the streets
The Isle of Wight Council does not ever miss a chance to FAIL.
We really do have the stupidest council in the country. What a ridiculous move. The council should help businesses rather than punishing them for trying to get trade. Traders should refuse to pay and tell the council to gft.
Not stupid, but certainly the slowest. Many councils up and down’t country have regulations and charge. They do say the island is years behind the times.
It’s always about the money, how to kill off the towns,……
£225 to advertise on an A board, it’s a lot to our small shops etc ….
But hey it fills up their pension pot’s and gives them more money to waste !!!!!!!!!
Way to go IOW council……
No shops no revenue ,lose job’s, claim benefits get reduced council tax, you lose !!!!!!!
Oh yes as I always say think further than the end of your nose !!!!or in your case your pension pot ……..
How wary dare the council charge me for leaving my property on the pavement! Who cares about wheelchair users anyway
That’s the point here.
To police the appropriate positioning of A-Boards they want to charge business owners to enable the policing.
That is small fry in reality. To assist the disabled and pushchair users, they should charge car owners to park on the pavement outside their houses in roads where there are no driveways (or where households have more vehicles than their drives are capable of holding)
Agree. Plenty of pavements in UK are already insanely narrow, extremely uneven and littered with just about everything.
Meanwhile, like on the attached pic, drivers get 2 lanes just to store their metal boxes and 1 for their use without any litter there, can park anywhere (it’s insane to have opt-out rather than opt-in system of public parking!) except double-yellow but they don’t care about it either (East Cowes Esplanade anyone?) and park on pavements as well making them more uneven.
Pavements are prime real estate that ought to be protected.
I can count on the fingers of one hand how many wheelchair users I have seen in Ventnor over the last year. Successful businesses are much more important. They are the beating heart of the Town.
Killing off town centres bit by bit. Well done IWCC.
How is that “killing of town centres”?
How about the council charge the charity that has those two people outside morissons and Sainsburys in union street in Ryde every single day, begging off the passers by and customers
quite frankly I am fed up with seeing them there, glaring at you as you walk past without giving them anything.
I was on the underground the other day & this scruffy looking guy was begging & when nobody responded he became very rude & abusive & aggressive, I had my Grandson with me & he heard it all I tried to cover his ears, it was shocking & probably for drugs or alcohol anyway.
What has that got to do with an article about A-boards?
What a two tier system, it’s ok for island Roads to constantly put road work signs ( A boards) across pavements and side of highway, more often causing more obstruction than road works ( often no one working). Outside council offices those crowd control fencing causing not only obstruction but danger to public from collapsing. Council allowed those Scooter and bikes to block pavement. Council listen,you might make a few quid from this,but when another business closes you will loose 10x more and each that goes and with parking charges means less footfall and so on. At rate council going our towns will not exist in 5yrs. Everything cheaper on line, delivery fast to doorstep and supermarkets increasingly having bigger ranges.
Except that all research from US and Europe shows that pedestrianised spaces are better for business.
Anything that makes area more walkable is a plus. Next step: truly pedestrianise streets in the very centre. Have a parking on the outskirts like Cowes.
Just look at how more lively Cowes High St is compared to Newport: I go to Cowes for a nice walk because it’s nice, without a plan and THEN get tempted by clothing store, dark rye bread from bakery, then some food, and then by a cocktail bar. I spend £££ total.
Newport? I go there with a job in mind: get things done in Specsavers and then I head back cause strolling there isn’t fun with all the cars. It’s not as comfortable. I spend little £.
I’m going to take a rough guess and say that around 90% of people on any given day in the summer months in Cowes are tourists.
But, go to Cowes in the Winter, and it’s like a ghost town.
So, it seems to me that the answer isn’t pedestrianising on its own, it’s what shops and other businesses you have there to attract people.
Ryde, for instance, is pedestrianised to an extent and it attracts people, locals and tourists, all year round because there’s still some shop there that people want to use.
All I’m saying is that your example of Cowes is a poor one because it’s essentially a tourist town and attracts people because it’s ‘Cowes’.
If we want High Streets, pedestrianised or not, we need to help businesses, not hinder them.
Imagine thinking ryde is a more popular town than cowes…..delusional!
For once the council has a good idea, but it should be £500 as £225 is to little, make it per sign per business as well.
If the council is so strapped for cash, how about recouping the £ 4 million unpaid council tax?
Please can I apply for the job of going around checking to see if every shop has a permit, I won’t mind what new vehicle you supply me with as long as I can take it home at night and weekends, also a two hour break to park up with the District Stewards from Island Roads.
Ah, now I know where County Hall is. Where the A sign reading “ROUGES. WE STEAL YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.”
“Rouge” is make-up. Learn to spell!
Sorry. Council sponsored spell checker again!
That’s rough. Rouge. Rogue. Downright criminal is usually the preserve of education standards, although admittedly they both cause a bit of a jam.
Reintroduce the 1 hour free parking in the car parks. Take some of the parked cars off the high street. Widen the pavements. There is now more room to put signs, a more pleasant visit to the town, more footfall, more businesses encouraged to fill the empty premises, more business rates income……. Sadly, only a fully pedestrianised high street will stop the fumes and the noise of unregulated engine noise from motor bikes and boy racers, and that would mean something really radical to find a route.
The world plan is to finish off small businesses
The WEF run world Governments and Governments run
Councils
That’s your answer.
If only that was true, we might not have such an incompetent council.
“Its very unsafe and dangerous, so we must ban them… Unless you have £225 to spare”
‘boards that create congestion or are placed in such a way so as to cause a nuisance or a potential hazard’
You’re right, it just seems like they’re using Health and Safety to introduce another tax on businesses.
Basically, ‘It’s ok if it’s a danger to the public, so long as you pay us £225 per year’.
How does it make it less of a hazard because the business pays a tax?
Bit like the Congestion charge and ULEZ charge in
London, nothing to do with volume of traffic or
Pollution, because as long as you pay the charges
you are allowed to drive in the zones.
So in other words as long as you pay you can kill
people with pollution.
Government / Councils think people are idiots,
sadly many people are, hence they get away with their
crazy rules.
We had a shop in that rundown dump you call Newport. So a A board is a hazard but if you pay it’s no longer a hazard got it. so it’s ok to have tables and chars all over the pavement
If it means more money for this inefficiently run Council then it is a done deal already.
Start charging businesses who block Pavements
with Flower pots blocking pedestrian walkways.
High Street Yarmouth is an example of businesses
being allowed to block walkways with flower pots.
Does the Council not check walkways for such hazards.
Ok to hammer small businesses but the council loses thousands a year by allowing Ryde Taxi’s to illegally park opposite the bowling alley, they already have most of the North side of the carriageway for their taxi rank, if a member of the public doesn’t pay to park they instantly get fined.
I would slap parking tickets on the Taxis
that would stop the Numpty’s, they think they
own the road.
IW Council are weak.
Send the G’estapo Enforcement Officers along to
do what they are paid to do.
I am fed up with vehicles getting away with murder.
Outside Sandown Pier is an example of motorists
taking the P I S S
all park on Double Yellow Lines
I have just two words… thieving ba…ds
ok Charge something sensible like a monthly fee of a couple of quid but not a big whopping £225 that could just wipe out a small business
Why are the council Hell bent on wiping out small businesses? Ludicrous decision. Who on earth are the people who decide on these lunatic policies?
W.E.F policy
Having looked at this myself being a small business owner. Portsmouth City council A board permit is £75. So where is the IOW council’s justification. I submitted my objection/observatio
n but stated that the consultation was just an exercise in due process and that the Councillors would have already rubber stamped the A- Board Tax