Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of

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 E ...

in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of

, excluding those parts which now form part of the Borough of Darlington, Borough of Hartlepool and the part of Borough of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees. Between its establishment in 1889 and major local government reforms in England in 1974, the council administered the historic county of Durham Following the 2021 Durham County Council election the council is under no overall control. A Conservative/Liberal Democrat/Independents coalition was formed at the 2021 Annual General Meeting. From 1919 to 2021 the council was under the control of the Labour Party, who held a majority except from 1922 to 1925. At the time of the 2011 census the council served a population of 513,200, which makes it one of the most-populous local authorities in England. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.

History

The Local Government Act 1888 created Durham County Council with effect from April 1889 as the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county of Durham. At the same time,

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...

, South Shields, and Sunderland were made

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

s, exempting them from county council control. The first elections took place in January 1889. Darlington became a separate county borough in 1915,

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

in 1967, and Teesside in 1969. Durham was the first county council to be controlled by the Labour Party, which won the most seats in 1919. In 1974, the boundaries of the council area changed significantly as the new counties of

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

were created, taking in areas in the northeast and southeast of County Durham. At the same time, the county council area gained the part of Teesdale south of the River Tees from the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1997 Darlington became a unitary authority, removing it from county council control. Durham County Council itself became a unitary authority on 1 April 2009, when the seven remaining

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non- ...

s of the county ( Durham (City), Easington, Sedgefield (Borough), Teesdale,

Wear Valley Wear Valley was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council and district capital was Crook. The district covered much of the Weardale area. In the west it was parished and rural, whereas in the ea ...

, Derwentside, and

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...

) were abolished and the county council absorbed their functions. The legislation which created the unitary authority allowed the council to name itself 'Durham Council', but in the event the name 'Durham County Council' was kept.

Geography

The unitary district is situated around the non-metropolitan areas of County Durham, covering the towns of Consett, Barnard Castle, Peterlee, Seaham, Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Shildon,

, Crook, Stanhope, Spennymoor, Ferryhill, Sedgefield and the cathedral city of Durham. As well as all surrounding hamlets, villages and suburbs of the unitary authority. Darlington,

and the parts of Stockton-on-Tees North of the River Tees are still part of the ceremonial county of County Durham but separate from the new unitary authority.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Billing authorities in England Durham, England English unitary authorities created in 2009 Former county councils of England Leader and cabinet executives Local authorities in County Durham Local education authorities in England Local government in County Durham Unitary authority councils of England