Have your say on County Durham boundary review

People in County Durham are being encouraged to have their say on potential new local council boundaries in the area.

The Local Government Boundary Commission is asking for residents' views on a proposed new pattern of electoral divisions for the council.

The commission has decided that the number of councillors in the county should be reduced from 126 to 98, and now needs to draw up new boundaries to reflect the change.

A 10-week consultation on the proposals is now underway and will run until Monday, 30 January.

The commission, which is the independent body that draws electoral boundaries, is reviewing arrangements in County Durham to ensure councillors represent a similar number of electors and that divisions are able to help the council work effectively.

Your community

In order to ensure that proposals reflect community ties and identities, the commission is interested in hearing people's thoughts about issues including:

• which communities should be part of the same division
• the facilities people share, such as parks, schools and shopping areas
• issues neighbouring communities face and have in common
• new developments that have changed the focus of communities
• roads, rivers, railways or other features that people believe form strong boundaries between communities

The commission will use feedback gathered during the consultation to help draw up proposals for new boundaries. There will then be a further phase of consultation.