If the pages of our local newspaper are to be believed the inhabitants of Devizes and surrounding areas are currently facing the prospect of a significant decline in our quality of life.

Apparently our local councils are considering proposals to demolish most of the public conveniences in Devizes, collect rubbish only twice a month, and make us pay and display when parking for ten minutes to pick up a paper or buy a loaf of bread.

At the same time we are expected to continue to put up with substandard road surfaces and the squandering of money on canal path lighting as part of a sustainable transport strategy.

Matters are not improved by knowing that our economy has experienced continuous growth for a record breaking 15 years. We've all got jobs then but what about the basic services that we rely on our local democracy to provide? At the moment we can only conclude that our councils are failing miserably at focusing on their core functions or alternatively giving too much priority to peripheral initiatives. Basically they are losing the plot.

When it comes to making the final decisions on the above issues I can only trust that those voting will prove me wrong.

S BULL

Devizes