There is a widely held perception that consultations have little effect on courses of action already decided by the "powers that be" and that they simply serve to flush out the opposition, to enable counter arguments to be developed. The "Preferred Options" document does little to change that perception. Whilst it is accepted that preferences expressed by the public are only one of several factors to be considered, many people will be dismayed to see a Preferred Option in excess of Scenario 2 when the majority of people who took part in an earlier recent consultation had favoured a much lower level of growth, as per Scenario 1.

There is little point in seeking the views of the public if those views will inevitably be trumped by dubious "regional employment forecasts".