The debate for and against a Regional Assembly for the North-East region, with an assembly capital for the North-East being probably located in Durham City, is now well under way. This will culminate in a decision: yes or no, to be voted for by the North-East in October.

In the lastest of a series of opinion pieces on the value of a North-East regional assembly, Keith Thompson, senior partner with recruitment specialists Howgate Sable, gives his view.

MANY people have raised concerns about the regional assembly - local and national politicians, Michael Howard, local businessmen and prominent business organisations such as the CBI, The Chamber of Commerce and The Institute of Directors.

They have raised fair and justifiable questions concerning the following:

* The funding of the assembly - how will this be paid for? By increases in council tax. The London Assembly overspent by a factor of three on its original estimates;

* The effectiveness of such an Assembly. Could this be a positive, proactive and visionary body which could really drive the region forward, or would it fall into type as just another layer of politicians, another bureaucracy to be overcome, another local quango in a somewhat fragmented community?

Could such a regional assembly, which only administered two per cent of its public spending, really have true clout in terms of decision-making and competition in the internal market against other assemblies and regional organisations in London and Scotland?

These are all extremely valid questions, and the no-voters and cynics of the North-East will undoubtedly fuel such flames fervently.

As a businessman who has worked in the North-East, since the mid-1970s, I have witnessed dramatic changes, both within the region - the denudation of our heavy engineering base for example, and also with regard to the region's positioning and status within the UK internal market for investment.

We have won some very notable macro-economic inward investments: Nissan and Siemens for example, but have also lost many others. I conduct business extensively in Europe and I have been truly impressed by some of the major development projects in many major European cities.

I am also opposed to bureaucracy, overspending and yet another layer of politicians who can potentially bog down an already slow-moving, regional decision-making process.

However, I also believe that this region, which is so distinctly defined by its heritage, its culture, its zest for life and its unending resilience, now has an opportunity to actually play a major role in defining its own destiny and to make its own decisions without recourse to Whitehall.

With true and visionary leadership, and a higher representation of business leaders as opposed to political members, the regional assembly could be in a very powerful position to shape the future of the region well into the 21st Century.