THE leader of Teesdale District Council said the proposed changes to local government structure may have persuaded many people to ignore the forthcoming local elections.

Councillor Ken Robinson said many people will be "turned off" by the May 3 elections because of proposals to merge the council into a unitary authority based in Durham.

"I think some folk might find it difficult to get involved in something which might not be around in a few years time," said Coun Robinson.

Seven of the 19 wards in Teesdale are to be contested in May, but Coun Robinson said: "I thought there would have been a handful more contested wards than what there is.

"But why would anybody want to get into local government when they don't know what is going to happen in the future?"

"I've always believed in local government, but the signs don't bode well."

The number of wards where there will be elections is up from the 2003 elections, when only three of the 19 wards were contested.

All of the current members of the council are returning with the exception of Evenwood councillor John Armstrong, who died in February aged 80.

Of the current members of the council, 14 face competition for their seats.

Of all the 42 nominations, 21 are from Teesdale Independents Association, nine are Labour, five are Conservative, four are Independent and three are non-aligned.

Mike Dennis, head of democratic service at Teesdale District Council, said: "The number of contested wards is up on 2003 so it's good to see a bit of an increase in the democratic process."