Angus Ward - A Weardale businessman who put together a consortium interested in buying the cement works:

"The report is a complete waste of time. We have to have real jobs to keep people in this area.

"I think it is an absolute mockery and a total waste of taxpayers' money. It is an insult to the people of Weardale.

"Six months down the road since Blue Circle announced it was closing and where are we?

"There has been no consultation whatsoever with local people. They haven't spoken to parish councillors or business people. It is a complete shambles.

"There is talk or resurrecting the railway as a passenger line. It would be futile. People won't use it through the week at all."

Derek Glass, from the Horsley Hall Hotel, near Eastgate:

"I think it will take more than saunas to get Swedish people to the North-East.

"The biggest issue is that they have taken six months to get to this stage and we have no concrete ideas from them.

"The dale cannot depend on farming and tourism. There has to be some help for small businesses to establish themselves and grow, and sustain young people in the dale. It worked at Consett when the steelworks closed and it can work here.

"There is a very strong feeling that we should have been consulted. The task force was set up with the best of intentions, but they seem to have got themselves into a corner and come up with proposals that have little or nothing to do with what local people want.

"Weardale is very parochial and they see this as another source of jobs that is closing down on top of quarrying and other industries. They want those jobs back."

Kevin Robinson, 50, a Blue Circle worker for 22 years:

"If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. When I first saw it I thought it was the joke report and the real one would come later. It's just disgusting.

"These people know nothing about this area. It's an insult to the people here and an insult to those men who are facing poverty by losing their jobs.

"The answer to our misery - Mr Bean. The fact that he never lived in Weardale or spent any time here is bad enough.

"But what about us? What are we supposed to do? Dress up as Mr Bean and show people around the sites or start making Mr Bean dolls?

"This is a £30,00 waste of taxpayers' money and an insult to 147 men who will be on the scrapheap come August."

Councillor Olive Brown, Wear Valley District Council leader:

"Some aspects of this report are completely unacceptable. The people of Weardale deserve better.

"References to things like Mr Bean are no help at all. Don't they know that the Japanese economy is in a worse state that ours?

"We are putting our own report to the task force on Monday, outlining long-term and short-term proposals for achieving sustainable solutions for Weardale. The report doesn't mention the Lafarge site, and we had high hopes for that.

"Our view is that the real issue is about sustainable jobs, transport and infrastructure, so that children have good schools and we all have good road links and other services.

"We want to keep people in the dale and make it, once again, a lovely area to live."