THE closure of Temple Cowley pool, the flooding problems over recent years and now the water shortages all have one thing in common – they were, and are, all primarily caused by decades of neglect.

Temple Cowley pool has been allowed to fall into disrepair over many years and now the city council will sell the area for a great deal of money, put this money in the bank or just waste it and rely on someone else to pay for a new pool to be built at Blackbird Leys.

Flooding, ditches, streams and rivers have been allowed to become overgrown and blocked over the years or, at best, restricted in the flow of water.

When we have rain it has nowhere to go and floods fields, roads and properties.

Now we have a water shortage. Some of the pipework we rely on for the supply of drinking water is now more than 100 years old and is rotten.

Leaks are a common sight, resulting in millions of litres of water going to waste.

In all three cases, we get the same excuse – shortage of money.

However, what the people in authority fail to say is what they did do about these issues before they got to this stage, many years ago, in the good times, when supply was aplenty.

It all comes down to one thing – incompetence on the part of those supposed to be running things – some elected, and some employed and paid for by the consumer.

KEITH BROOKS, Gateley, Horspath