Borough of Darlington | |
|---|---|
Unitary authority area andborough | |
.jpg) | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: | |
 Darlington shown withinCounty Durham | |
| Coordinates:54°31′00″N1°33′00″W / 54.5167°N 1.5500°W /54.5167; -1.5500 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | North East |
| Ceremonial county | County Durham |
| City region | Tees Valley |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1997 |
| Named after | Darlington |
| Administrative HQ | Darlington Town Hall |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary authority |
| • Body | Darlington Borough Council |
| • Executive | Leader and cabinet |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| Area | |
• Total | 76 sq mi (197 km2) |
| • Rank | 145th |
| Population (2024)[3] | |
• Total | 112,489 |
| • Rank | 220th |
| • Density | 1,500/sq mi (570/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcode areas | |
| Dialling codes | 01325 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-DAL |
| GSS code | E06000005 |
| Website | www |
TheBorough of Darlington is aunitary authority area withborough status inCounty Durham, England. Since 1997 Darlington Borough Council has been aunitary authority; it is independent fromDurham County Council. It is named after its largest settlement, the town ofDarlington, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area surrounding the town which contains several villages. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 107,800,[5] of which over 86% (93,015) lived in the built-up area of Darlington itself.[6]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of theTees Valley Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly electedTees Valley Mayor since 2017.
The neighbouring districts are theCounty Durham district to the north and west,Stockton-on-Tees to the east andNorth Yorkshire to the south, theRiver Tees forming the border for the latter.
The town of Darlington was made amunicipal borough in 1867. In 1915 it was elevated to become acounty borough, taking over county-level functions from Durham County Council.[7]
The borough was reformed and enlarged on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. It absorbed nearly all of the surroundingDarlington Rural District, with the exception of the parish ofGreat Aycliffe (which covers the town ofNewton Aycliffe) which went toSedgefield district.[8][9] The enlarged borough was also reconstituted as anon-metropolitan district as part of the 1974 reforms, with Durham County Council once more providing county-level services to the town.[8]
The council was made aunitary authority on 1 April 1997, regaining its independence from the county council. The way this change was implemented was to create a newnon-metropolitan county of Darlington covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority.[10] The borough remains part of County Durham forceremonial purposes, with whom it continues to share certain local services, such as theCounty Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service andDurham Constabulary.[11]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority along withHartlepool,Middlesbrough,Redcar and Cleveland andStockton-on-Tees. Unlike Darlington, the other four districts in the combined authority had all been part of thecounty of Cleveland between 1974 and 1996.[12]
Darlington Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Leader & Cabinet |
| Leadership | |
Rose Rouse since March 2025[15] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 50 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | Tees Valley Combined Authority |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Town Hall, Feethams, Darlington, DL1 5QT | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Darlington Borough Council provides bothcounty-level anddistrict-level services. Parts of the borough are covered bycivil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas.[16]
Since 2016 the council has been a member of theTees Valley Combined Authority.[12]
The council has been underno overall control since 2019. Following the2023 election a coalition ofLabour and theLiberal Democrats formed to run the council, led by Labour councillor Steve Harker.[17]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[18]
Lower-tier non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 | |
| Labour | 1979–1987 | |
| No overall control | 1987–1991 | |
| Labour | 1991–1997 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1997–2019 | |
| No overall control | 2019–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. An attempt to secure a referendum on having adirectly elected mayor in 2006 was unsuccessful.[19]
The leaders since 1991 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Williams[20] | Labour | 1991 | 8 May 2011 | |
| Bill Dixon[21][22] | Labour | 19 May 2011 | 19 Jul 2018 | |
| Steve Harker[23] | Labour | 19 Jul 2018 | 23 May 2019 | |
| Heather Scott[24][25] | Conservative | 23 May 2019 | 19 May 2022 | |
| Jonathan Dulston[26][27] | Conservative | 19 May 2022 | 25 May 2023 | |
| Steve Harker[28] | Labour | 25 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election,[29] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was:[30][31]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 24 | |
| Conservative | 13 | |
| Green | 6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | |
| Independent | 5 | |
| Total | 50 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[32]
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50councillors, representing 20wards, each of which elects two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[33]
The council is based atDarlington Town Hall on Feethams in the centre of Darlington.[34] The building was purpose-built for the old county borough council and was completed in 1970.[35]
As well as Darlington itself the borough includes the surrounding villages of:
It is home toTeesside International Airport (previously known as Durham Tees Valley Airport).
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Darlington.
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