'Public against quango closure'
The chairman of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation has claimed there would be a public backlash if the Government scrapped the body as part of its plans to clamp down on quangos.
Since coming to power, Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will scrap quangos such as the WNDC, which was set up in 2005 to oversee the expansion of Northampton, Daventry and Towcester.
But the WNDC's chairman, John Markham, has said scrapping the body would be the wrong thing to do and warned the people of Northampton would oppose the move.
He said: "The fear is that through some overall policy which didn't take account of the work we do, people will say 'get rid of all the quangos'.
"But there would be such an uproar from local people who would say 'what's happening with the Grosvenor Centre, or the marina, or the Nunn Mills site, is that going to stay undeveloped for the next 20 years?'
"So they could get rid of the WNDC, but everything would stop.
"They could take a decision like that, but it would be wrong, if the Government does the sensible thing, they'll keep us in place."
The WNDC leader insisted it was still 'business as usual' at the organisation's Franklin's Gardens base, but he admitted the talk of quangos being scrapped had unsettled staff.
He said: "I think things are worrying for everybody in the public sector at the moment.
"But we've got a real job to do at the WNDC and we're really positive about what we're doing.
"So at the moment, I'd have to say things are still in line with the direction we've had for a while, which is to stay until the end of the WNDC's life, which is just under five years.
"After all, we've still got a lot of work to do. We're currently working on 77 major projects."
But the Conservative MP for Northampton South, Brian Binley, who has been a long-time opponent of the WNDC, said he was confident the new Government would wind-up the organistaion.
He added: "I'm very much of the opinion that planning powers should be returned to local councils. And the WNDC has, to my mind, always been unnecessary.
"It has no job to do which could not be done by existing bodies who are elected by the people.
"So I certainly think the WNDC will be one of the quangos to go."
Government minister Bob Neill is expected to visit the county in the next few weeks to clarify the WNDC's position.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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