IT became abundantly clear within a matter of weeks of the general election that the South West Regional Agency's days were numbered.

David Cameron has never been shy about his deep dislike of quangos and the costly regional agencies – an idea first thought up by the Labour Government – were always going to be the first in the firing line.

But what has always been less clear until now is what exactly would replace the agency and how it would go about its work.

The idea of Local Enterprise Partnerships has been floating around ever since the election but even coalition ministers seemed less than sure about what form the new organisations would take.

In the South West, only Devon and the area around Bristol have been given the go-ahead to set up an LEP and they are at last beginning to take shape.

In Bristol, a shadow board has been formed and will be ready and in place when the RDA ceases to exist in just over a year.

What has been made clear by the Government is that the days of multi-million pound projects failing to materialise and large staffing have gone for good. Only this week there was renewed criticism when it emerged that Jane Henderson, the outgoing chief executive of SWRDA, has a £1.3 million pension pot to soften the blow of losing her job.

The much-maligned SWRDA had a staff of 250 and an annual budget of £180 million – in stark contrast, the new LEP is likely to have a staff of less than 10 and no budget at all. Indeed, the nascent organisation is in the process of looking for someone to offer them some free office space.

Despite the lack of resources, the organisation still has lofty ambitions – the aim is to create 90,500 jobs by 2030 and bring £1 billion of investment into the region over the next five years.

The man who more than likely will be chairing the new organisations is convinced that the LEP can make a difference.

Colin Skellett, chief executive of Wessex Water, is no stranger to public service and, as well as being involved with SWRDA, he also has links to the Society of Merchant Venturers and GWE Business West.

An interim board has been set up and has held a series of meetings including one with David Cameron, Nick Clegg and business secretary Vince Cable.

As well as having representatives from the four councils in the Bristol area, the organisation will also include the all-important representatives from the business community.

Mr Skellet said: "The refreshing thing about the LEP was the enthusiasm we have had from the business community. We held discussions with all the organisations, including the CBI and Institute of Directors. Everyone had a say about the composition of the LEP and we took that on board.

"The idea has been not just to reflect the various sectors of the economy but to reflect the geography of the area as well. We wanted representative from all parts of the greater Bristol area."

As well as the leaders of the four unitary councils, business representatives include Katherine Bennett, vice president and head of political affairs at Airbus; David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman; Professor Joe McGeehan, managing director at Toshiba Research Europe; and Robert Sinclair; the chief executive of Bristol Airport.

Despite the question marks that still remain about the LEP, Mr Skellett has been impressed by the commitment not just from the local business community but also from central Government.

He said: "The Prime Minister was very clear about the importance of LEPs in delivering the economic recovery. Both he and Nick Clegg indicated there would be a range of measures around the budget to free up the planning system, reduce the burden on small business and create mechanisms for supporting business start-ups, all of which would be very welcome."

At the second board meeting, the LEP expressed its delight at the recent good news on the transport front, which had followed letters being sent in support of five transport schemes and the multi-million pound electrification of the main line between Bristol, Bath and London.

Mr Skellett said: "It helps that we were one of the first LEPs in the country to be approved, so it means that we were well ahead of the game. There was a feeling that RDAs in the north would survive but that turned out not to be the case.

"Having said that, there have been several LEPs approved in the north and they are very much on the ball.

"It is our job to stay with them and make sure we are leading the way."

He added: "We were really pleased to hear that the rail line is to be electrified, which will improve contact with the capital. In addition, it was good to hear confirmation that all five of our local transport schemes are still in the running for funding.

"Our job will be to keep up the pressure on Government to help those schemes through what will be a very competitive process. We'll also be galvanising the business community to add their weight to what is absolutely vital for our future prosperity."

He added: "We want to see an improvement in our digital infrastructure so we have the best available broadband and we will be having discussions with BT to enable that to happen.

"We are also keen to ensure that the assets owned by the outgoing RDA are used in the best possible way for the sub-region and of course we will need to position ourselves to ensure we make the most of the potential of European funding.

"It is important for people to realise that the LEP can't do everything on our own.

"We can help gather information so we know where we are, we can come up with ambitious plans for the future and we can help remove obstacles to growth.

"But success will only be achieved by the public and private sectors working together. We know that business is enthusiastic about the new opportunities and I am confident we will have wide support for our efforts."

Mr Skellett explained: "We will be a very different organisation to the regional development agency. The RDA was an enabler which had specific targets and programmes. People tend to remember the failures but it is also important to remember that some of the schemes that the RDA got involved in were very successful. You only have to look at things like the Science Park and the National Composite Centre.

"However, this will be a very different organisation. We will be talking to businesses to establish what obstacles are put in their way and then we will be lobbying central Government on their behalf."