New wards 'would split communities'

Liberal democrats Ben Ord, from Spennymoor, and Tommy Taylor, Coundon, are fighting proposals being put to the Boundary Committee for England to redraw electoral divisions in the Spennymoor and Coundon areas.

Under the changes being proposed by Durham County Council, Byers Green and most of Middlestone Moor would be moved to the Coundon ward, Low Spennymoor and Tudhoe Grange would transfer from Tudhoe to Spennymoor and the Dene Valley would be linked with Shildon.

The council has already endorsed the proposals and the Boundary Committee will announce its initial plans in August, triggering a 12-week consultation before final recommendations go to the Electoral Commission.

Councillor Ord said the council’s acceptance of the new boundaries did not reflect the views of local communities.

He said the new wards would link areas with little in common and make it difficult for councillors to be truly representative.

He said: "This will split the town of Spennymoor. It has been a number crunching exercise and not about natural boundaries.

"It has not taken into account the 2,300 new houses in Spennymoor that are either under construction, have planning permission or are subject to public inquiry.

"The people I talk to locally don’t understand it. There is no support for it because there is no regard for local communities."

Mr Taylor said: "It is an absolute shambles. I agree totally with Ben Ord that it is dividing communities and intend that it should be one of the first things to be discussed by the new Area Action Partnerships."

Spennymoor Town Council has already criticised the new boundaries, saying they would join together areas with no affinity with each other.

Durham County Council leader Simon Henig has denied the boundaries had been drawn for political reasons.

Around 60 per cent of overall the proposals for the county won all party support when they were discussed at a special meeting.