Consultations

Updated proposals to balance the Council budget

As we wait to find out what funding we will receive from the government next year, we continue to work towards finalising our budget proposals and are still experiencing significant financial challenges. The estimated budget deficit we face next year and across the next four years has increased since we made our initial forecasts in September. We therefore must now propose additional savings for consultation.

Consultation on updated proposals to balance the Council budget

The closing date for comments is 5.00pm on Friday 17 January 2025.

Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document (phase 2)

Following on from our initial consultation in June this year, we want your views on the amended Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document consultation (phase 2)

The closing date for comments is 5.00pm on Sunday 12 January 2025.

Non-Designated Heritage Asset Supplementary Planning Document (phase 2)

Following on from our initial consultation in June 2024, we want your views on the amended Non-designated Heritage Asset (NDHA) Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

Non-Designated Heritage Asset Supplementary Planning Document consultation (phase 2)

The closing date for comments is 5.00pm on Sunday 12 January 2025.

Belonging, culture and identity in Bishop Auckland

We are continuing to build a better Bishop Auckland, to revitalise and transform it into a place where residents and visitors can enjoy work, leisure, and life. As part of this, we would like you to answer our survey so we can learn more about your interaction and feelings about the area.

Belonging, culture and identity in Bishop Auckland

The closing date for feedback is 5.00pm on Friday 13 December 2024.

Why we consult

We want to give everyone who lives, works or visits County Durham the chance to help improve our services and influence the decisions we make. One way we do this is by giving individuals, businesses and organisations the chance to have their say about subjects and services which they have an interest in. We may also have a legal duty to consult with you, for example, before making big changes to any of our services. Listening to, and taking onboard, your views, helps us make sure our services meet the needs of our communities.

We use different levels of engagement - sometimes we ask you to be involved from the start in shaping plans and services (co-production) and sometimes it is more appropriate that we draw up draft proposals first (consultation). Once complete, we feed back the outcome of each consultation and how your feedback has influenced it.

We try our best to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to join in:

We make printed copies of all our surveys available in our Customer Access Points and libraries as well as online.
We produce information and surveys in Easy Read formats for people with learning disabilities and can produce documents in large print, another language or other formats on request.

For more details on how we consult, please see our Consultation Statement (PDF, 165 KB). If you'd like to know more about what we do, would like one of our current consultations in an alternative format, or are finding our service difficult to access, please Contact Consultations.

Planning

We work on a variety of planning schemes across the county and some of these applications require a consultation process. Our Statement of Community Involvement explains how we consult on planning issues currently, including:

Previous consultations and feedback from them

When our consultations close, we analyse the information we receive and make decisions based on that information. Find out about previous consultations:

Document downloads

Privacy notice - consultations (PDF, 105 KB)(opens new window)