AN opportunity of a lifetime to secure the future of the 17.5 acres of tranquil lakes at Waterside adjoining to Chesham Moor, for the town’s benefit forever has been lost by the sale to a private person.

When the council said it did not have the money to purchase the lakes, many people called for a fund to be set up to raise the money by public appeal but no councillor, or even local society took on this role.

The reason must lie in the system of local government that has evolved that does not serve the demands of its citizens but whatever political party holds power.

The reality is we do not actually have elected representatives of people but of an oligarchy of political parties.

In an increasingly media-driven age, a growing number of distractions has allowed the power of these parties to grow almost unremarked.

Sadly, political power does not rely on the size of the ordinary party membership but on the huge scale of donations to parties by big business and wealthy lobby groups, seeking influence. Many people believe that, with hardly any public debate, such influence ensured that HS2 was backed by all three main parties, despite the weakness of the economic arguments.

There is no immediate answer but it must be clear that it is time everybody who cares about where they live here, in Buckinghamshire, must come together to form a citizens’ association to examine and debate the predicaments facing us and devise sound solutions to serve us.

For example, the Waterside lakes could have been purchased by public subscription and easily maintained as it is, by fees from local responsible fishermen.

I am not an articulate or a committee-type person but if people are interested in developing such an association they can contact me at my email address merelenedavis@hotmail.com to try to begin to redress the situation we find ourselves in to make a positive difference.

Merelene Davis, Chesham