County Durham (district)

County Durham is a local government district in North East England. It is governed by Durham County Council, a unitary authority.[1] The district has an area of 2,232.6 km2 (862 sq m), and contains 135 civil parishes.[2] It forms part of the larger ceremonial county of Durham, together with boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees.

County Durham
Unitary authority area and district
Durham
Durham, the administrative centre of the district and its largest settlement
Durham, the administrative centre of the district and its largest settlement
Flag of County Durham
Flag
Coat of arms of County Durham
Coat of arms
Shown within Durham ceremonial county
Shown within Durham ceremonial county
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionNorth East England
CountyDurham
Unitary Authority1 April 2009
SeatDurham
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan
Unitary authority
 • Local AuthorityDurham County Council
 • MPsMary Foy (L)
Dehenna Davison (C)
Paul Howell (C)
Grahame Morris (L)
Kevan Jones (L)
Richard Holden (C)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total521,346 (Ranked 10th)
 • Ethnicity
98.2% White 1.8% Other
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Postcode
DH1-DH99
Dialling code0191
ISO 3166-2GB-DUR
ONS code00EJ (ONS)
E06000047 (GSS)
WebsiteCouncil website

History

Between 1974 and 1 April 2009 County Durham was governed as a two-tier non-metropolitan county, with a county council and district councils. The original eight districts were Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Derwentside, Durham (city), Easington, Sedgefield, Teesdale, and Wear Valley.[3] In 1997 Darlington was removed from the non-metropolitan county and became a separate unitary authority.[4] In 2009 the remaining districts were abolished and replaced by a single district covering the non-metropolitan county, with Durham County Council as the sole local authority.[5]

Geography

The district has multiple hamlets and villages. Settlements with town status include Consett, Barnard Castle, Peterlee, Seaham, Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Shildon, Chester-le-Street, Crook, Stanley, Willington, Stanhope, Spennymoor, Ferryhill and Sedgefield while Durham is the only city in the district.

Neighbouring council areas
Local authority In relation to the district
NorthumberlandNorth
GatesheadNorth east
City of SunderlandNorth east
HartlepoolSouth east
Stockton-on-TeesSouth east
DarlingtonSouth
North YorkshireSouth
Westmorland and FurnessWest

Governance

Following the 2021 United Kingdom local elections, the council is now under control of a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Conservative Party, Independents and North East Party.

Education
Further information: List of schools in County Durham

Durham LEA has a comprehensive school system with 36 state secondary schools (not including sixth form colleges) and five independent schools (four in Durham and one in Barnard Castle). Easington district has the largest school population by year, and Teesdale the smallest with two schools. Only one school in Easington and Derwentside districts have sixth forms, with about half the schools in the other districts having sixth forms.

Notes

    References
    1. "Durham unitary authority approved". BBC News. BBC News. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
    2. "County Durham". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
    3. "Durham council leader explains the benefits of a becoming large unitary authority". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
    4. "The Durham (Borough of Darlington) (Structural Change) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
    5. "The County Durham (Structural Change) Order 2008". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
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