After weeks of flirting – and the odd knockback – councils and business groups across the Westcountry have finally sorted out who they want to partner up with to form Local Enterprise Partnerships.

A total of five proposals were submitted by local authorities and business groups in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset by the Government's deadline of September 6.

One early expression of business-led interest that was submitted by the Devon and Cornwall Business Council seems to have lost momentum after failing to win buy-in from local authorities.

LEPs have been put forward by the coalition Government as an alternative to Regional Development Agencies, which it believes have been too large, too unwieldy — and too much of a drain on the public purse.

A total of 56 LEP proposals were received by the Government to replace nine RDAs — significantly more than the 20 to 30 the Treasury is rumoured to have wanted.

This has prompted concern from groups including the CBI, the Institute of Directors and the EEF manufacturers group that there is a risk of parochialism and local infighting.

The Government will now consider the merits of each submission. When bidders will be told if their submission has been accepted is not yet known.

In fact, very little about how the Government sees LEPs working in practice is known.

Initiated by a joint letter from Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles at the end of June, business groups and local authorities have had precious little to go on from the Government. Exact details of what the LEPs remit will be, how they will work with Government and other agencies and what powers they will have are yet to be spelt out.

Further information is expected in a White Paper in the next six weeks or so. In the meantime, there has been a chicken and egg scenario where bidders have been forced to consider the form of an LEP without full knowledge of its function.

While acknowledging the opportunities that this creates for a radical and innovative approach, it has been a considerable challenge.

"I have been frustrated by the Government. They were in opposition for years and they have been saying that RDAs will go, and that's fine, but they don't seem to have had an idea of what will replace them," said Rupert Cox, chief executive of Somerset Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"The serious flaw in the timetable, as everyone knows, is that local authorities close down for the summer and, in some cases, you have junior officers putting bids together," added Mr Cox, saying that he had spent three weeks trying to reach a senior officer at Devon County Council who was on holiday.

The timing has also made it more difficult to fully engage with the private sector, with many businesses still having to focus all their energies on surviving the recession.

"Consultation has been hard when business is just trying to keep the show on the road. We could have done with doing this in a few years' time," said Vivienne Rayner, South West policy manager at the Federation of Small Businesses.

The tight timeframe has also increased the likelihood of the LEP proposals being dominated by the public sector.

The Pickles/ Cable letter clearly envisages that LEPs will be a partnership between the public and private sectors but, in reality, most of the five Westcountry bids have been driven by local authorities because they have been able — just about — to complete the submissions.

This is why none of the bids has so far been backed by the Devon and Cornwall Business Council which issued a statement noteworthy for what it didn't say, rather than what it did: "The DCBC will support the economic prosperity and businesses of Devon and Cornwall and will do all it can to help develop and grow businesses in the area with all partners and will help build a coherent and sustainable economic strategy."

Both the Devon/ Plymouth/ Torbay and the Cornwall/ Isles of Scilly bids have come in for criticism because of issues with consultation. In Cornwall, the FSB has said that council officers have not responded to emails and telephone calls and in Devon, Exeter City Council and Exeter Chamber of Commerce have hit out at a lack of consultation from Devon County Council and its partners.

Many in the Westcountry's business community believe Whitehall will not accept the proposals in their current form.

Somerset Chamber chief executive Rupert Cox said: "Ministers are likely to look at bids and come back to somewhere like the Westcountry and say, 'I like some of the ideas but it's not thinking strategically'."

Whatever the outcome, there will remain concerns in the business community that the smaller scale of LEPs will hamper the Westcountry's ability to lobby Government.

With less resources available through the new Regional Growth Fund, the areas that shout with a coherent, strong voice are likely to be those that win through.

FSB South West policy manager Vivienne Rayner said: "It's fair to say we're very concerned at the fragmentation. Historically, the South West has always been regarded as London's playground.

"We have not had what other areas have had in terms of resources, for example for transport or broadband, let alone the funding other RDAs and local authorities have had on a per head basis."

The FSB wrote to LEP bidders across the Westcountry during the third week of August asking how they proposed to approach strategic lobbying issues. It has yet to hear back from any of them.

This issue has also prompted businesses across the wider region to form a virtual campaign group on the professional networking site Linkedin.

Called South West business, discussions have focused on concerns that the localism agenda at the heart of LEPs is "a recipe for divide and rule".

There are also concerns that LEPs, with their strong links to local authorities, could become too focused on local opinions on, for example, controversial planning decisions rather than being able to stand back and drive unpopular — but necessary — change.

All eyes are now on the Government, to see what their response to the expressions of interest will be.

The proposals may have been submitted — but it remains to be seen if Whitehall thinks they are really matches made in heaven.