Members of Aldenham Sailing Club have voiced “deep concerns” over its future after news the reservoir on which it sails could be changing hands.

Hertfordshire County Council last week announced it would not be renewing its lease of Aldenham Reservoir, due to expire in 2015, as part of £150million of cuts to the authority's overall budget.

The decision raises serious questions over the future of the sailing club, which has existed within Aldenham Country Park since about 1940 and has more than 400 registered members.

Jim Strother, 53, who runs the club, said: “We are very concerned. Is there going to be a future for our club post 2015? We need to know the answer to that much before then - membership will start to drift away if people know we are closing.

“We have investment in the clubhouse, for example we put a new roof on it. We also want to know what to do with our members'

money - you can't improve a club that's looking like it might fold.”

The club hosts activities for several schools in the area and the members, who come from Hertfordshire, north London, and some from as far as Essex, range from ages seven to 70.

Sailing instructor Richard Jenkins, a member there for 35 years, said: “It would be a great loss. It's a beautiful setting, great competition, great heritage – some of the early members of the club were prominent in boat design, and some really big names in the dinghy sailing world sailed here - it would be really sad to see it go.”

Ownership of the reservoir is due to be handed back to freeholders Safari Investments in 2015 but the club says there has been no confirmation over what it plans to do with the facility.

One of the reasons the council claims it is unwilling to renew the lease is the substantial liability it faces over the reservoir's dam.

The current agreement is a full-repairing lease meaning if the dam, built during The Great War, is damaged, the authority must foot the bill.

As well as its decision not to renew the reservoir lease, the county council last week announced it would begin shutting down all its operations in Aldenham County Park – news that sparked a public outcry.

An online campaign group, on social networking site Facebook, has attracted more than 700 members and a meeting is due to be held next month to try and save the park from closure.

Mr Strother added: “We need to get the discussion about the reservoir going now - we can't wait three or four years - we need to know now what our future is. We're happy to talk to anybody - we want constructive, positive discussions but that of course that sits within discussions about the future of the whole park.”