S Halden

3:43pm Friday 18th July 2008

ROBERT Buckland (SA July 2) is right when he says an obscure layer of regional government decided that Swindon needed an extra 35,000 new homes and that it was not a decision made by Swindon borough council.

But does Robert Buckland know that a new organisation called the Infrastructure Planning Commission will in future make planning decisions even less democratic?

These unelected commissioners will be responsible for approving all major projects such as airports, motorways and nuclear power stations with absolutely no democratic accountability at all.

Admittedly the new system will speed up planning decisions but it is feared that these unelected commissioners will not give a fair hearing to local objections.

Such major infrastructure projects should be decided by elected members of parliament and not by remote unelected commissioners.

The creation of the Infrastructure Planning Commission has seriously weakened British democracy.

STEVE HALDEN Beaufort Green Park North Swindon

Remember When...