THE SOUTH WEST REGIONAL ASSEMBLY:

Terry King, chair of the Okus Area Residents' Association:

"The first thing is that we don't really know enough about the regional assembly. People say what is it? Who is on it? What does it do?

"But what we do know gives us no cause to be content. We don't like the idea of planning issues being decided down in Taunton.

"We are not happy at all. We think that it is taking away local decisions and won't give local people enough say in their future.

"We have already taken more than a lion's share of development we have taken a whole pride of lions' share. It is very worrying indeed."

Jean Saunders, of Swindon Friends of the Earth:

"We have got an assembly that meets either in Taunton or Exeter, to which the general public has no access.

"It is hard enough to get people to go along to borough council meetings so almost impossible to get people involved in a decision making process that is taking place hundreds of miles away from them. It is undemocratic.

"They hold consultation meetings but in all the time I have been here they have never taken the trouble to come to Swindon.

"The public get marginalised because Swindon is on the edge of the region.

"Most of the groups that get involved with the assembly are based much more centrally so we are really not getting represented adequately by the public bodies because Swindon is so peripheral."

Peter Andrews, chief executive of the New Swindon Company:

"It is too early to comment on the impact of the Regional Assembly on planning and development. We really need to see the process in action to take a view on whether the planning system is improved or changed with Regional Assembly involvement."

Dennis Grant, chief executive of Swindon Chamber of Commerce:

"I think the concept of regional assemblies is an ideal concept, bring power closer to the people.

"But I have two reservations. Firstly how does it interface with local elected councillors?

"Secondly who elected these people? Where is the manifesto? How do you get on it? It doesn't appear to be very democratic.

"If you stopped 100 people in the town centre and asked them who sits on the assembly 99 of them would not know and that is bad news. Is an old boys' club being developed?"