Island Echo always welcomes letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff. Letter to the editor – 1st June 2024
“Firstly congratulations to the Committee of The Ryde Business Association (RBA) on managing 3 fantastic businesses on Union St and Ryde seafront. All three businesses are unique and successful, well done to you all for bringing some class to our lovely town. “We all know that to be successful takes so much effort, keep up the good work, Ryde needs business owners like you. “It is essential for all Ryde Business Owners both big and small to have a voice in our town including groups like Friends of Ryde Town Hall , Community Murals, The New Carnival Company, Friends of Ryde Library and Ryde Carnival and many more organisations who need to work alongside our Town business community. “The £20M available for Ryde, The new Ryde Town Board, The Ryde Town Council, Marketing, The Ryde Business Website. “We need the RBA to step up, it has been 7 months since we have had any communication from The RBA besides the sharing social media information. “We have a committee of four people but hear nothing, we do not have an RBA committee member on the Ryde Town Board, We do not have a voice. “The RBA Constitution states there has to be an Annual General Meeting every spring, it is June and we still don’t hear anything of when this is taking place. “We as small business owners need a responsive Business Association, we all want to support you , so please speak to us, tell us your plans, let us have a voice within our community, we cannot expect the Ryde Town Council to know how we feel, or to know what we need if we are not getting represented. “We hope you respond to us, we hope you have plans, we all want to be members of a great RBA and have a say in what goes on in our Town. “We all have businesses, we are all busy, but we understand the commitment, the time and the workload you have as committee members of The RBA. “But if you cannot do what you were voted in to do, call an AGM and lets get another committee in to do the job, otherwise can you please get on with it a little better, keep us informed, ask our opinions, give us the voice we expect. Its really easy of you to share Town events on Facebook but we expect meetings, views, news , collaboration . “This is not a personal attack, please don’t take it that way, this is just a plea for our Business Association to work with us, the business owners, or if you cannot, please just give up and let somebody else take it on, but either way just do something.
Rob Madigan The Star Coffee & Ale House
If The Star didn’t charge such extortionate prices, they’d have more custom. £6.40 for a pint of weak real ale. No thanks.
They wouldn’t need to if Council wasn’t so greedy with business rates and carparking and encouraging tourists away from town as no public toilets,splash pool closed ,no Arcade and dirty scruffy streets with rubbish and dog poo and alot of antisocial behaviour from teens to adults.
yeah well, perhaps also if they weren’t spending so much taxpayer cash on freeloading parasites, that just exist of state welfare and handing out money to illegals and any other sob story going, then perhaps there would be cash for actual, community and town improvements
Agreed on freeloading parasites that exist off state welfare and drugies and drunks, single mums with 6kids etc – but illegals as you put it deserve help given how bad already treated in own country seeing family or children murdered etc,they don’t want state handouts they want to work, just our government won’t let them. If work they cost tax payers nothing, they help businesses and pay taxes .Yes a small minority are bad!.
What lot of bull shit they come into this country and given everything there was shop in Ipswich opened especially for them to tell them what they could get in benefits there are families on the island who need some were to live yet all the immigrants that have moved to the island given some where to liv as soon as they arrive What about the asylum seekers that were stopped from going home at Christmas that just about sums it up I agree that something needs doing about benefits and the government need to pull there finger out on the news this morning that for over 5 years they have been promised to deal with the immigrants coming over its worse now than it was as for the £20 million after everyone has been payed for the work there will
all these illegals were not being treated badly in every country they went through to get to britain – so no, your argument doesn’t stack up – these are freeloading spongers that have turned up here and they deserve nothing
IW Council could help businesses by letting vehicles park longer.
2 Hr stays along Union Street would help businesses.
I usually pop to the Post Office and that takes at least 10-15 minutes
therefore not enough time to pop in an eaterie to have food, so
businesses lose out.
Some of the food places are slow, take the Wonky Goat
you need 2 hours parking.
IW Council are responsible for destroying the Island,
you can’t Fart without a G’estapo Enforcement Officer trying to
slap a ticket on you.
We are already paying this B’stard Council too much Council Tax
compared to what the rest of the country is paying.
Greedy B’stards is the answer
Don’t forget the lack of waste bins and the fact that the refuse operatives who regularly empty the bins in the roads.
Can’t recall the last time we saw any street cleaning in the Swanmore Road area!
The council does not set business rates. Central govt sets business rates across the country. And Ryde’s lovely residents vandalised the loos. Well done.
The one’s at the top of St Johns Hill have been closed for “refurbishment ” for so long now they have peobably forgotten what they are!
Not Ryde vandals but our lovely councils
That is why everyone goes to Spoons
Spoons best pint in ryde , they don’t rip me off nice cheap breakfast also. As for the rest of town rundown turd town . Coffee shops and charity shops hahaha what a joke.
Kev were you born a tw@T, or did it happen with time!
Scum bag Trevor who not so clever . Father of the year award waiting for you
Need more in Ryde than nail bars and hairdressers, both male and female, no really decent stores, so no wonder people use the Internet these days.
Some interesting comments, but to just get back to the main thrust of Mr Madigan’s letter, there is plenty of business representation on the various boards, committees and steering groups that seems to run most things in these parts. But its all a matter of contacts, knowing the right people. The Ryde TC and/or IWC are the gatekeepers who get to decide who has a voice. Perhaps the RBA just aren’t very good at schmoozing local politicians ?
When he says “we want to support you, so please speak to us,tell us your plans, let us have a voice in our own community” he could be speaking for any ordinary citizen on the Island. Not convinced we need even more business leaders running the place.
I think it’s because the landlord of The Star was on the RBA and had a hissy fit and left. That’s the real push behind his letter.
Well that would make sense. If the people who downvoted Mike’s post know otherwise, could you give us the true version of events ?
Never have, never will, complete waste
Sending prayers to make you less angry, there is to much anger in the world.
Come to church miss Angry, we can help.