From Edward Lyon, Sandown:

I am dismayed Sandown boating lake and adjacent land is being offered for sale to be developed.

It is one of the only wild places left in Sandown and has for years been highly valued by locals and holiday makers alike.

It is also home to families of swans, ducks, coots and moorhens.

With the addition of sloping sides to the lake and an island, many more species could be encouraged there.

Sale of such open land for building, in competition with the numerous eyesore sites in Sandown, which have blighted the town for years, means these are more likely to remain undeveloped.

Surely, if Sandown is serious about regaining its former popularity, as a major seaside resort, it is vital to smarten the whole town up, rather than destroy the few rural and attractive bits, which remain.

With that regard, I appeal to such fine and powerful organisations as the Freemasons.

They are renowned for their charity work and even provide a life-saving defibrillator, for general use, at their Sandown Headquarters.

Couldn't they invite those owners who leave their properties derelict, if not already members, to join them and encourage them to help rejuvenate the town. In doing so, they would receive undying gratitude from us all.