COUNCILLORS have reacted to Bill Dixon's decision to resign as leader of Darlington Borough Council.

The Northern Echo revealed this morning that Cllr Dixon will step down as leader next month, and will also quit as a councillor before the elections next May.

Darlington’s mayor, Cllr Veronica Copeland, said Cllr Dixon would be remembered by many of his colleagues for his straight talking and “wicked sense of humour”.

Cllr Copeland praised him for his work with young people and for protecting the council’s housing stock, adding: “Bill thought long and hard about this decision and he has made his mind up.

“To be fair to the council and the Labour group, he thought he should give whoever comes after him some time to acclimatise to the role of leader before the election.

 “He’s had to take a lot of stick for things that are not really the council’s fault and I’m sure he’ll be remembered as someone who had a lot of difficult things to do.

“The cuts we’ve had to make will probably be laid at his feet but we had to do it in order to make sure the council continues to function.

““I am very sorry to see him go, I think he’s been a very good leader in very difficult times and I will miss him.”

Independent councillor Kevin Nicholson said: “Bill has done a lot for the area over the last 27 years, which is a great achievement.

“In the early days, he was really instrumental in changing the local area and nobody can take that away from him.

“I remember looking up to him when I was younger as a wise figure who would come and bring words of wisdom and calm to any situation.

“I’d like to recognise the work that he’s done and the support he has given to residents in my area, in particular in the early 90s when he did exceptional work improving community safety around Firthmoor and Eastbourne.”

He added: “It is a change for the future and I hope we can look forward to 2019 with a sense of renewal and optimism.

“It could also be a fresh start for the council, which can only be a good thing.

“I hope his replacement will not be someone just stepping up into the role, people want real change.

“I hope whoever is elected is someone dynamic and forward thinking.”

Labour Cllr Chris McEwan said: “As with all leadership changes, this came as a bit of a shock.

“Over the past eight years, Bill has had a very challenging time, taking us from the point of financial collapse to the position we are in now, which is much more stable.

“He has led a team of officers and councillors that have sought to continue to try and get Darlington to hit above its weight and we have seen that in terms of economic growth and projects such as the Hippodrome and Symmetry Park.

“I will be grateful for the level of leadership he has shown in very, very challenging times.

“I believe that his legacy will be that we have taken the town through quite significant changes but still encouraged hope and ambition.”

Conservative councillor Doris Jones said: “He probably feels that he has earned his retirement and maybe it is time for him to focus on his family.

“He has taken an awful lot of flack in his role as council leader, which happens, but a lot of it has been unjustifiable.

“I think he deserves his retirement, everyone is entitled to a personal life and he will be remembered for leading the council over more than 20 years.

“He will have good reasons for doing what he is doing as throughout his years on the council, he has thoroughly enjoyed it.

“But life goes on, nobody is indispensable – we’ve just lost a chief executive but many people on the street won’t even realise.

“I don’t think his resignation will make any difference, the town needs some mega changes to be made for there to be a difference, not the loss of one man – he did not have that much control over the council.”

Labour councillor Cyndi Hughes said: “Bill is a true son of Darlington, people can say what they like about him but he has had the best interests of Darlington and its people at the heart of everything he has done over many years in local government.

“He has done his best to leave us in the best possible position for his leaving, we’ve had a lot of economic development and positive changes in a climate of austerity and the dismantling of local government services.

“He has been very brave in leading decisions that were really hard for us all and he has left us at a point where we can spring forward and move to the next step to tackle the challenges we are facing as a community.

“If you look at all of what he has done during his years of service, you will remember him as a really good leader but if you’re only looking at the past seven years, he says himself that he didn’t get into local government to dismantle and close services but he did what he had to do and he did everything for the right reasons.”

Liberal Democrat Anne-Marie Curry said: “Bill will be remembered fondly by some and not by others.

“I will commend him for the work he has done in relation to drug rehabilitation but he has also led a council that has made some really strong decisions which a lot of people have been upset by.

“He has done a lot of work but there has been some bad decisions made by the ruling group which he has led on and as a member of an opposing party, I will continue to say that there has been a lot of money wasted.

“If you remember him fondly, you will remember him as someone who has steered the council through a really difficult point with the cuts but if you are against him, you will remember him for some of those poor decisions.”

Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner, said “I’d like to thank Bill for many years of unstinting service for the communities of Darlington, and to wish him a well-deserved and relaxing retirement’.