Wear Valley was, from 1974 to 2009, a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East Eng ...

, England. Its council and district capital was Crook. The district covered much of the

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. T ...

area. In the west it was parished and rural, whereas in the east it was more urban. Crook and Willington are unparished. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Go ...

, by the merger of the

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history sur ...

, Crook and Willington and

Tow Law Tow Law is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the south of Consett and 5 miles to the north west of Crook. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,952, increasing to 2,138 at the 201 ...

urban districts, along with Weardale Rural District. The district was abolished as part of the

2009 structural changes to local government in England Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a "two-tier" system of counties and districts. In five ...

, becoming part of the

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

unitary authority. Wear Valley had a population of around 65,000 in 2001.

Electoral divisions

At the time Wear Valley District Council was abolished the electoral wards were: *Bishop Auckland Town ward *Cockton Hill ward *Coundon ward *Dene Valley ward *Crook North ward *Howden ward *Tow Law and Stanley ward *Crook South ward *Wheatbottom and Helmington Row ward *St John's Chapel ward *Stanhope ward *Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear ward *Escomb ward *West Auckland ward *Hunwick ward *Willington Central ward *Willington West End ward *Henknowle ward *Woodhouse Close ward

Largest settlements

1. Bishop Auckland - 24,000 2. Crook - 13,000 3. Willington - 5,000

External links

Durham Dales
English districts abolished in 2009 Former non-metropolitan districts of Durham {{Durham-geo-stub