The Borough of Darlington is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. Since 1997 Darlington Borough Council has been a unitary authority; it is independent from Durham County Council. It is named after its largest settlement, the town of Darlington, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area surrounding the town which contains several villages. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 107,800, [5] of which over 86% (93,015) lived in the built-up area of Darlington itself. [6]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017.
The neighbouring districts are the County Durham district to the north and west, Stockton-on-Tees to the east and North Yorkshire to the south, the River Tees forming the border for the latter.
The town of Darlington was made a municipal borough in 1867. In 1915 it was elevated to become a county borough, taking over county-level functions from Durham County Council. [7]
The borough was reformed and enlarged on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It absorbed nearly all of the surrounding Darlington Rural District, with the exception of the parish of Great Aycliffe (which covers the town of Newton Aycliffe) which went to Sedgefield district. [8] [9] The enlarged borough was also reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district as part of the 1974 reforms, with Durham County Council once more providing county-level services to the town. [10]
The council was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1997, regaining its independence from the county council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Darlington covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. [11] The borough remains part of County Durham for ceremonial purposes, with whom it continues to share certain local services, such as the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and Durham Constabulary. [12]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority along with Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Unlike Darlington, the other four districts in the combined authority had all been part of the county of Cleveland between 1974 and 1996. [13]
Darlington Borough Council | |
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Type | |
Type | Leader & Cabinet |
Leadership | |
Ian Williams since 2021 [15] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 50 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | Tees Valley Combined Authority |
Elections | |
First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
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Town Hall, Feethams, Darlington, DL1 5QT | |
Website | |
www |
Darlington Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. [16]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. [17]
The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Following the 2023 election a coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed to run the council, led by Labour councillor Steve Harker. [18]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [19]
Lower-tier non-metropolitan district
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1976 | |
Conservative | 1976–1979 | |
Labour | 1979–1987 | |
No overall control | 1987–1991 | |
Labour | 1991–1997 |
Unitary authority
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1997–2019 | |
No overall control | 2019–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. An attempt to secure a referendum on having a directly elected mayor in 2006 was unsuccessful. [20]
The leaders since 1991 have been: [21]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Williams [22] | Labour | 1991 | 8 May 2011 | |
Bill Dixon | Labour | 19 May 2011 | 19 Jul 2018 | |
Steve Harker | Labour | 19 Jul 2018 | 23 May 2019 | |
Heather Scott | Conservative | 23 May 2019 | 19 May 2022 | |
Jonathan Dulston | Conservative | 19 May 2022 | 25 May 2023 | |
Steve Harker | Labour | 25 May 2023 |
Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was: [23] [24] [25]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 24 | |
Conservative | 13 | |
Green | 7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 3 | |
Independent | 3 | |
Total | 50 |
The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors, representing 20 wards, each of which elects two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [26]
The council is based at Darlington Town Hall on Feethams in the centre of Darlington. [27] The building was purpose-built for the old county borough council and was completed in 1970. [28]
As well as Darlington itself the borough includes the surrounding villages of:
It is home to Teesside International Airport (previously known as Durham Tees Valley Airport).
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Darlington.
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Darlington is a market and industrial town in County Durham, England. It is the main administrative centre of the unitary authority Borough of Darlington. The borough is a constituent member of the devolved Tees Valley area.
The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area in England with borough status. It straddles the ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire and had a population of 196,600 in 2021.
Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley; the local term for the valley is Teesdale. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council elections are held every four years. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Stockton-on-Tees, which straddles the ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. Until 1 April 1996 it was a non-metropolitan district in Cleveland.
Darlington Borough Council elections are held every four years. Darlington Borough Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Darlington in County Durham, England. Until 1 April 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district.
The Borough of Hartlepool is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. Hartlepool Borough Council became a unitary authority in 1996; it is independent from Durham County Council. It is named after its largest settlement, Hartlepool, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area to the west of the town. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 92,571, of which over 95% (87,995) lived in the built-up area of Hartlepool itself.
Middlesbrough Council, also known as Middlesbrough Borough Council, is the local authority for Middlesbrough, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council is led by the directly elected Mayor of Middlesbrough.
Northumberland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having also taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished.
Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as Thamesdown Borough Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1997. In 1997 it was renamed Swindon Borough Council and became a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Wiltshire Council, the unitary authority which administers the rest of the county.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council.
Halton Borough Council is the local authority for Halton, a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2014 the council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Durham County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. The council is a unitary authority, being a non-metropolitan county council which also performs the functions of a non-metropolitan district council. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.
Southend-on-Sea City Council is the local authority of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Southend has had an elected local authority since 1866, which has been reformed several times. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Essex County Council
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, which straddles the ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire in England. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It therefore provides services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, town planning, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor since 2017.
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority for Redcar and Cleveland, a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh Borough Council and was a lower-tier authority until 1996 when it was renamed and became a unitary authority, taking over county-level functions from the abolished Cleveland County Council.
The inaugural Tees Valley mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the mayor of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The mayor was elected by the supplementary vote system. Subsequent elections will be held in May 2021 and every four years after 2024.
The Borough of Middlesbrough is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, based around the town of Middlesbrough in the north of the county. Middlesbrough Council became a unitary authority in 1996. The borough is part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, along with the boroughs of Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington. There are two parish councils in the area of the borough of Middlesbrough, Nunthorpe and Stainton and Thornton respectively.
County Durham is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is governed by Durham County Council. The district has an area of 2,226 square kilometres (859 sq mi), and contains 135 civil parishes. It forms part of the larger ceremonial county of Durham, together with boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees.