THE Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was in Wichelstowe yesterday to sign the Swindon and Wiltshire growth deal, which will see £132m come to the area to be spent on infrastructure projects.

Included on the list of projects the money will be used for is the proposed tunnel under the M4, as well as improvements to junctions 15 and 16.

The money is distributed through the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, a group of local business leaders and councillors.

However, there have been accusations that there is a lack of democratic accountability for the group, given the amount of money involved.

Mr Clegg disputed this, saying LEPs have the right balance between business and politicians.

“It’s a partnership, not just business people on the LEP,” he said.

“The whole point about this arrangement and the Growth Deal is it is a combination of the business community and democratically elected politicians.

“It’s about bringing them together.

“If you give all the money to business people and there is no accountability then that won’t work and if you give it all to politicians that won’t work either.

“It’s about making sure both sides work in tandem with each other.

“The big benefit is more jobs and more homes.

“The way to deliver that is to make sure the decisions are taken locally rather than by officials and ministers in Whitehall and that is what is at the heart of this Growth Deal.

“It is about the people of Swindon making decisions for themselves instead of someone else.”

He also said that in the face of council cuts money in the form of a Growth Deal was the best way spending what money there is at the local level.

“We all know there is less money to go around because of the cardiac arrest in our economy in 2008,” he said.

“There isn’t going to be more about for a while.

“If there is not going to be more money about from central Government there should at least be more freedom on how it is spent and that is what this deal is about.”

Swindon Council leader David Renard (Con, Haydon Wick) who is is one of the SWLEP members, says the money shows there is a lot of faith in the work they are doing.

He said: “It’s a huge boost for the region.

We have been given more per head here through the Growth Deal than in any other part of the country.

“It is a vote of confidence in the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP and we are all very pleased with the money.”