Shrewsbury Flower Show cannot be allowed to fall by the wayside
For 150 years, people have flocked from all over the country to the Shrewsbury Flower Show, one of the biggest and most important events on the West Midlands' social calendar.
So news that it will not take place this year - in what would have been such an important landmark year is a huge blow to the region.
It is also a sadly familiar tale, as events which were once the beating heart of their communities have fallen victim to changing habits and rising costs, and it looks like the rise in the minimum wage and the increase in National Insurance were the straws that broke the camel's back.
What is more concerning is that the long-term future of the event also appears to be in doubt. We sincerely hope that the problems are ironed out, and that the festival will be back with a vengeance next year.
And maybe the Government should reconsider whether the National Insurance hike could in some way be mitigated for non-profit making organisations.
Shrewsbury Flower Show has brought pleasure to thousands of people over the past century and a half, and has brought millions of pounds of revenue into the town.
It would be a tragedy for it to fall by the wayside.