THE fight to bring a North-East regional assembly to Durham City gathered momentum last night as the head of an influential councils' body indicated that it would back the campaign.

Thirteen council leaders from across the region - including Teesside and Tyneside representatives - identified Durham as the ideal location at a meeting held by pro-assembly supporters on Tuesday.

The Yes4TheNorthEast organisation said it would follow up that decision by seeking the endorsement of the Association of North-East Councils (Anec), which represents 25 local authorities.

Anec is due to discuss the matter at its next meeting, but chairman Councillor Bob Gibson said Durham was already considered a popular choice.

Coun Gibson, leader of Stockton Borough Council, said the best location for an assembly home had been briefly discussed but no decisions taken.

However, he said: "I think, from all those that I have been speaking to, the preference would be for Durham.

"My own choice would also be for Durham, it is very central. What sort of headquarters it should be, with how many people, has yet to be talked about. That would need to be decided."

Meanwhile, supporters of the new body are casting their eye around for the ideal premises in Durham City.

According to Professor John Tomaney, chairman of the Yes4theNorth-East campaign, it will not entail spending millions of pounds on a new building.

"We don't want it to be a new building. We would hope to put an existing, hopefully historic building, to a new use."

Prof Tomaney said the assembly, with 25 members and 100 to 200 support staff, would not need a big home.

"Much of its administration will be in existing organisations, for example OneNorth-East, which has a building in Newburn. We wouldn't be moving them. We don't need a parliament building on the Scottish scale."

Durham County Council, an assembly supporter, has suggested the assembly could use laboratory buildings at County Hall. Meetings could then be held in County Hall's council chamber.

Another option is Durham Town Hall, in the historic heart of the city, were the local council to be abolished - which is one possibility in the impending shake-up.

Redhills, home to the Durham area NUM, is another strong contender and boasts a debating chamber - modelled on the layout of a Methodist Chapel - that has stood idle since the death of the county's coal industry.

The city's £13m Gala Theatre could also double as a venue for assembly meetings as it has world-class acoustic and seating that can be altered for conferences.

A "yes" vote will do away with one tier of local government, which could make some council buildings redundant, such as Durham City Council's offices at Byland Lodge if voters opted for a county-wide authority.

The date for referendums on whether assemblies should be established in the North-East and Yorkshire has been named as November 4, provided Government orders are cleared by the Commons and Lords.

Coun Gibson said: "Now the date has been set, a lot of the cloud has been lifted. We know there is a referendum and it is important that Anec and the regional assembly start to make arrangements around that."

Prof Tomaney, said he was hoping for Anec to make a definitive statement declaring its backing for Durham City in the near future.

"We had 13 council leaders at our meeting and we know that, beyond that, there are other people who are in favour. We think we have 75 per cent signed up, but ideally we would like 100 per cent," he said.

Neil Herron, director of the North-East No Campaign, has hit out at discussions surrounding a possible HQ location, saying there is "no way on earth a yes vote is guaranteed".