Proposals for new Local Network boundary areas

Background

Since 2009, our 14 Area Action Partnerships (AAPs) have been one of the main ways for us to connect and engage with you on a local level. Since their start, they have helped to fund over 10,000 community based projects. AAPs are made up of members of the public, our staff (including AAP staff, senior managers) and councillors, town and parish councils, police, fire, health, housing, business, and voluntary organisations. Together they work with communities and organisations to agree local priorities and the actions required to deal with them.

Following an independent review of our current engagement practices, and a countywide County Durham community engagement consultation, our Cabinet agreed in July 2023 to replace the current AAP model with new Local Networks. The new Local Networks will help us, alongside our partners, to better engage, consult with and develop our communities so we can tackle the challenges that we face more effectively and help build more resilient communities.

What we are consulting on now

Current AAP boundaries

As we move towards the introduction of the new Local Networks, we have reviewed the current AAP boundaries to consider the new local boundaries. As part of this we have considered outcomes of the Local Government Electoral Boundary Review which will see new boundaries for the counties electoral divisions come into effect in May 2025.

The AAP boundaries have stayed the same since their creation and do not fully line up with the current electoral divisions, cutting through some electoral divisions. There is also currently a wide variation in population size across AAPs and therefore the number of county councillors that represent each AAP area.

Proposed Local Network boundaries

We are now able to propose new boundaries for the Local Networks, so that they will have a more consistent population size and county councillor representation.

We propose that the county should be made up of 12 Local Networks. Moving to 12 Local Networks from 14 AAPs will help us to achieve budget savings of £500,000 for 2025/26 to 2026/27.

The benefits of proposals for our communities are that they:

• will provide clear and logical boundaries that match the new electoral divisions in time for local council elections in May 2025, enabling councillors to focus priorities and commitments in one area
• are better matched to existing information and insights that are collected at county and national level to understand the needs of each area
• are more consistent in population size and county councillor representation so that grant funding is more evenly spread across the county

For our rural areas across Teesdale and Weardale, where there are fewer people across a larger geographical area, we have taken account of their uniqueness. For this reason, we propose not to align their boundary areas on population size to ensure resources are maintained.

The proposed Local Network boundaries are:

• Local Network A: Aycliffe North and Middridge, Aycliffe South, Sedgefield
• Local Network B: Bishop Auckland, Shildon and Dene Valley, West Auckland
• Local Network C: Chester-le-Street North, Chester-le-Street South, Lumley and West Rainton, North Lodge, Sacriston and Witton Gilbert
• Local Network D: Benfieldside, Consett North, Consett South, Delves Lane, Derwent and Pont Valley
• Local Network E: Elvet, Gilesgate and Shincliffe, Framwellgate and Newton Hall, Neville's Cross, Pittington and Sherburn
• Local Network F: Dalton and Dawdon, Easington and Shotton, Murton and Seaham
• Local Network G: Blackhalls and Hesledens, Castle Eden and Passfield, Horden and Dene House, Peterlee, Thornley and Wheatley Hill, Trimdon and Wingate
• Local Network H: Brandon, Crook, Deerness, Lanchester and Burnhope, Langley and Esh, Willington and Hunwick
• Local Network I: Bowburn and Coxhoe, Chilton, Ferryhill, Spennymoor, Tudhoe
• Local Network J: Annfield Plain, Tanfield, Craghead and South Moor, Pelton, Stanley
• Local Network K: Barnard Castle, Evenwood, Lower Teesdale, Upper Teesdale
• Local Network L: Weardale

Have your say

Consultation feedback

Analysis of the consultation survey responses and other feedback shows that the proposed boundaries evoke a diverse range of opinions. There was general acknowledgement that aligning Local Network boundaries to electoral division boundaries was a sensible approach however both survey respondents and other feedback identified general comments around inconsistencies in population sizes and concerns around potential loss of community cohesion as a result of boundary changes. However, none of the feedback generally identified obvious alternatives to the proposed boundaries that would resolve the issue of balancing population numbers, reducing the overall number Local Networks from the previous 14 AAP areas, and maintaining the strategic drivers of the boundary changes.

The one notable exception to this was significant feedback on the proposed inclusion of the electoral division of Pelton within Local Network J (Stanley area) from both Chester-le-Street & District and Stanley AAP boards, and in other feedback submissions. There was strong disagreement with the proposal and clear preference for Pelton electoral division to be included within Local Network C (Chester-le-Street area).

There were two changes to the proposed boundaries following feedback and the following has been agreed (from 1 April 2025):

• Local Network A: Aycliffe North and Middridge, Aycliffe South, Sedgefield
• Local Network B: Bishop Auckland, Shildon and Dene Valley, West Auckland
• Local Network C: (amended) Chester-le-Street North, Chester-le-Street South, Lumley and West Rainton, North Lodge, Sacriston and Witton Gilbert, Stanley
• Local Network D: Benfieldside, Consett North, Consett South, Delves Lane, Derwent and Pont Valley
• Local Network E: Elvet, Gilesgate and Shincliffe, Framwellgate and Newton Hall, Neville's Cross, Pittington and Sherburn
• Local Network F: Dalton and Dawdon, Easington and Shotton, Murton and Seaham
• Local Network G: Blackhalls and Hesledens, Castle Eden and Passfield, Horden and Dene House, Peterlee, Thornley and Wheatley Hill, Trimdon and Wingate
• Local Network H: Brandon, Crook, Deerness, Lanchester and Burnhope, Langley and Esh, Willington and Hunwick
• Local Network I: Bowburn and Coxhoe, Chilton, Ferryhill, Spennymoor, Tudhoe
• Local Network J: (amended) Annfield Plain, Tanfield, Craghead and South Moor, Pelton
• Local Network K: Barnard Castle, Evenwood, Lower Teesdale, Upper Teesdale
• Local Network L: Weardale

The name of each individual Local Network will be determined by the Local Network Panel at one of their first meetings to ensure it reflects their perception of the new geography.

What happens next

After this consultation, we will consider all feedback, and update our boundary proposals if necessary. The proposals will then be finalised and considered by our Cabinet before implementation in April 2025.