Skip to content
  1. Do it online
  2. Login
  3. Have your say
  4. My Durham

Please note that our Modern.Gov system is currently unavailable - this affects all aspects of the democracy/committee section on our website, including Committee papers. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Proposals for new Local Network boundary areas


Have your say on proposals for new Local Network (Area Action Partnerships) 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

The deadline for comments is 5.00pm on 20 September 2024.

AAPLocationDateTime
3 Towns AAPCrook Civic Centre11 July 20245.30pm
4 Together PartnershipDean Bank and Ferryhill Literary Institute
St Cuthbert's Terrace
Ferryhill
DL17 8PP
 7 August 20246.00pm
Bishop Auckland and Shildon (BASH) AAPCivic Hall
Shildon
11 July 20244.00pm
Chester-le-Street AAPSt Barnabas Parish Centre
Bournmoor
DH4 6ET
22 July 20246.00pm
Derwent Valley AAPSalvation Army Hall
Sherburn Terrace
Consett
DH8 6ND
17 July 20246.00pm
Durham AAPonline - contact Contact Area Action Partnership - Durham8 July 20246.00pm
East Durham AAPShotton Youth Centre10 July 20246.00pm
East Durham Rural Corridor AAPFishburn Youth and Community Centre16 July 20246.00pm
Great Aycliffe and Middridge PartnershipPioneering Care Centre23 July 20246.00pm
Mid Durham AAPNew Brancepeth Village Hall
17 Rock Terrace
New Brancepeth
DH7 7EP
17 July 20246.00pm
Spennymoor AAPKirk Merrington Community Centre
Front Street
Kirk Merrington
DL16 7HZ
25 July 20246.00pm
Stanley AAPMorrison Busty Building
Morrison Road
Annfield Plain
Stanley
DH9 7RX
9 July 20245.00pm
Teesdale AAPHamsterley Village Hall17 July 20246.00pm
Weardale AAPSt Thomas Centre
Rectory Lane
Wolsingham
DL13 3AJ
11 July 20246.00pm

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.



Share this page

Share this page on Facebook Share this page on Facebook Share this page on Twitter Share this page on Twitter