THE phrase is "every cloud has a silver lining" but in the case of Amersham town centre's proposed multi-million pound revamp perhaps it should read the other way around: "Every silver lining has a cloud".

The news that two schemes are set to battle it out in a bid to revitalise Amersham-on-the-Hill is great news for shoppers, retailers and businesses in the town.

But less than two miles away in Chesham the mood is not so upbeat.

The sad fact is that any increase in business in Amersham will obviously lead to less trade in Chesham.

Chesham has had a hard time of it in recent years nobody can deny that.

Pedestrianisation may have lifted the dark clouds of smog and soot from the town's narrow High Street but it has also dented trade and damaged business.

This, coupled with high business rates and changing shopping habits, has done no favours for this ancient market town and that is reflected in the number of empty shops around the town centre.

But until recently Amersham-on-the-Hill was in the same boat. Charity shops lined the High Street in ever greater numbers and To Let signs were all too common a sight. But how things are changing now.

Amersham-on-the-Hill is attracting the kind of businesses it deserves as an affluent and up-market area.

If either of the new schemes go ahead in Amersham the only way is surely up.

But we should spare a thought for Chesham because, despite the doom-mongering, the end of the road is far from close.

Chesham is a very different place to its smaller neighbour. It is a town that is going through a period of adjustment during a challenging time for many small towns up and down the country.

Many have suggested that Chesham must find more of a niche market to perform better as a shopping centre and draw more customers in.

This may be so, but one thing is for sure, Chesham has been around for centuries and it would take a whole lot more than a redevelopment up the road to bring the town to ruin.