Unitary authority area in County Durham, England
Borough and Unitary authority area in England
The
Borough of Darlington
is a
local government district
with
borough status
in
County Durham
, England. Since 1997 Darlington Borough Council has been a
unitary authority
, being a
district council
which also performs the functions of a
county council
; 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,
[2]
of which over 86% (93,015) lived in the built-up area of Darlington itself.
[3]
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.
History
[
edit
]
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.
[4]
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
.
[5]
[6]
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.
[7]
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.
[8]
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
.
[9]
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 short-lived
county of Cleveland
between 1974 and 1996.
[10]
Governance
[
edit
]
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.
[13]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the
Tees Valley Combined Authority
.
[14]
Political control
[
edit
]
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.
[15]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:
[16]
Lower-tier non-metropolitan district
Unitary authority
Leadership
[
edit
]
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.
[17]
The leaders since 1991 have been:
[18]
Councillor
|
Party
|
From
|
To
|
John Williams
[19]
|
|
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
|
|
Composition
[
edit
]
Following the
2023 election
and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:
[20]
[21]
[22]
The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
[
edit
]
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.
[23]
Premises
[
edit
]
The council is based at
Darlington Town Hall
on Feethams in the centre of Darlington.
[24]
The building was purpose-built for the old county borough council and was completed in 1970.
[25]
Settlements
[
edit
]
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).
Demographics
[
edit
]
Freedom of the Borough
[
edit
]
The following people and military units have received the
Freedom of the Borough
of Darlington.
Individuals
[
edit
]
- John Williams: 24 November 2011.
- Alasdair MacConachie: 24 November 2011.
[26]
Military Units
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
UK Census
(2021).
"2021 Census Area Profile ? Darlington Local Authority (E06000005)"
.
Nomis
.
Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
5 January
2024
.
- ^
"Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021"
.
Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
3 March
2024
.
- ^
"Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021"
.
Census 2021
. Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
3 March
2024
.
- ^
"Darlington Municipal Borough / County Borough"
.
A Vision of Britain through Time
. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth
. Retrieved
3 March
2024
.
- ^
"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1972/2039
, retrieved
3 March
2024
- ^
"The New Parishes Order 1973"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1973/688
, retrieved
3 March
2024
- ^
"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1972/2039
, retrieved
3 March
2024
- ^
"The Durham (Borough of Darlington) (Structural Change) Order 1995"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 1995/1772
, retrieved
3 March
2024
- ^
"Lieutenancies Act 1997"
.
legislation.gov.uk
. Retrieved
14 February
2020
.
- ^
"The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016"
.
legislation.gov.uk
.
The National Archives
. SI 2016/449
. Retrieved
25 February
2024
.
- ^
Edgar, Bill (25 May 2024).
"Darlington Mayor: Bob Donoghue elected as town's 2024 mayor"
.
Darlington and Stockton Times
. Retrieved
3 June
2024
.
- ^
Minting, Stuart (12 January 2021).
"Top Darlington council jobs to be reshuffled"
.
Northern Echo
. Retrieved
15 June
2023
.
- ^
"Election Maps"
. Ordnance Survey
. Retrieved
25 February
2024
.
- ^
"The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016"
.
legislation.gov.uk
.
The National Archives
. SI 2016/449
. Retrieved
25 February
2024
.
- ^
Edgar, Bill (26 May 2023).
"Cllr Steve Harker elected as new Darlington Council Leader"
.
Northern Echo
. Retrieved
15 June
2023
.
- ^
"Compositions calculator"
.
The Elections Centre
. 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
10 August
2022
.
- ^
"Pro-mayor group halfway to securing a referendum"
.
The Northern Echo
. 29 August 2006
. Retrieved
29 August
2007
.
- ^
"Council minutes"
.
Darlington Borough Council
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
"Ex-Darlington Council leader John Williams dies at 65"
.
BBC News
. 12 July 2013
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
"Local elections 2023: live council results for England"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
Edgar, Bill (4 October 2023).
"Darlington Tory councillor Yvonne Renton becomes Independent"
.
Northern Echo
. Retrieved
3 March
2024
.
- ^
Edgar, Bill (30 May 2024).
"Darlington councillor Colin Pease quits Conservative Party"
.
Northern Echo
. Retrieved
3 June
2024
.
- ^
"The Darlington (Electoral Changes) Order 2014"
,
legislation.gov.uk
,
The National Archives
, SI 2014/3338
, retrieved
3 March
2024
- ^
"Opening times"
.
Darlington Borough Council
. Retrieved
3 March
2024
.
- ^
Lloyd, Chris (2017).
Darlington in 50 Buildings
. Amberley Publishing.
ISBN
978-1445666822
.
- ^
"Darlington Borough Council"
(PDF)
.
www.darlington.gov.uk
.
- ^
Live, Teesside (17 September 2010).
"Thousands of people flocked to Darlington to honouring our heroes"
.
External links
[
edit
]
Video clips
[
edit
]
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