THOUSANDS of households in County Durham are being surveyed to discover if there is backing for a referendum on proposals for a regional assembly.

The county council has written to 32,000 randomly selected homes in the wake of the Bill that could pave the way for the first directly-elected assemblies in the English regions.

People outside London are to be offered the chance of regional government following the publication of the White Paper Your Region - Your Choice, last May.

The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill was released in November following the Queen's Speech.

As a first phase in the three-stage process the level of interest in each region will be gauged.

If there is no interest, no further action will be taken, but if there is sufficient interest, a referendum and review of local government will be carried out in county areas.

That review would recommend the most appropriate form of unitary local government, followed by the third step of a referendum where the entire region would vote on whether or not a regional assembly should be created.

As part of stage one, the county council has been invited to express a view on the issue and therefore needs to discover the views of the electorate.

Chief executive Kingsley Smith said: "It needs to be stressed that what is being judged at this stage is the level of interest in having a referendum, and not in an assembly itself.

"This survey allows local people the chance to have a say on a matter of great importance.

All responses will be treated confidentially, but they will help to shape our response to the Government."

County head of economic development, Mark Lloyd, said apart from the household survey, the council has also contacted 800 businesses at random as well as seeking views from community and voluntary groups.