A COUNCILLOR has called on his Government to reinstate his authority on a list of rural areas to share in £8.5m of extra funding.

As reported in The Northern Echo today (Thursday, February 7), within 24 hours Durham County Council was told it would receive £224,000, then removed from the list.

The Department of Communities and Local Government said the original list was incorrect.

Now Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Wilkes has written to ministers asking for Durham to be “re-instated”.

“If Weardale and Teesdale and much of the rest of the county are not considered rural then I would appreciate a copy of the definition of the word rural,” he said.

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