A PUBLIC consultation on setting up a new council is to be re-run amid concerns about how residents’ views were collected first time around.

During January and February, Durham County Council consulted on the creation of a new community council for Pelton Fell, near Chester-le-Street, and after six weeks 299 responses had been received.

However, 133 were not on the original form and not returned in the original envelope and a member of the public complained about the “provenance of the photocopied forms” and “the manner which a representative of the (Pelton Fell) Community Partnership had collected these from residents”.

The county council’s head of legal and democratic services decided there was too great a risk of challenge and today (Wednesday) a full council meeting voted to re-run the consultation, starting on Wednesday.

Councillor Nigel Martin said it was “not the best tale in the world” and argued the issue should instead be put to a local referendum, which he suggested would not cost “much more” than re-running the consultation, estimated to be around £1,000.

His fellow Liberal Democrat Owen Temple said he had read the report on the issue “with alarm” but re-running the consultation posed a “real reputational risk” to the authority.

However, Labour’s Carl Marshall said such policy should not be made “on the hoof” and backed re-running the consultation.

Of the 166 consultation responses that were accepted, 68 per cent rejected the community council idea, citing the possible cost of the new body.

Cllr Marshall said Pelton Fell had helped itself to become a vibrant community with facilities and assets, praised the work of the Community Partnership, which first campaigned for the new council, said the Partnership felt it would help with the "next step in the village’s journey" and added he was disappointed at the decision not to accept the 133 responses.

Labour deputy leader Cllr Alan Napier also praised the Community Partnership for “trying to generate interest in the community”.

Cllr Martin’s referendum proposal was defeated by 75 votes to 13 and re-running the consultation was approved by 73 votes to eight.

During an earlier consultation, held last autumn, 56 per cent of respondents supported the community council idea.

If established, the new seven-member council could come into being in 2017.

In the first year, the county council would have to set the new authority’s council tax precept and, although exact figures are yet to be determined, it has been estimated residents living in a Band D property would have to pay about £49.96 a year extra.