The county's residents will be asked to post their votes for local councils or one council for the county. Reporter Mark Foster investigates the issues surrounding the controversial plans.

EVERY voter in County Durham will be given the chance to have their say about a planned shake-up of local government.

The county's seven district councils are to hold a postal referendum on proposals to replace the present two-tier system with one council providing all services.

The councils have hired Electoral Reform Services, at a cost of £200,000, to organise the referendum.

All 380,000 registered electors will receive ballot papers asking them to vote either for a single countywide, unitary, council or for the retention and improvement of the present system.

The referendum will not be binding on the Government because it has not been ordered by ministers.

But the district councils say it should have an influence on the decision.

The Government is consulting scores of "stakeholders" in the region - other publicly-funded bodies and quangos - but there is no formal mechanism to find out what council taxpayers think - such as the referendum for the North-East Assembly, which also included proposals for local government changes.

Alan Napier, Labour leader of Easington District Council, said: "We believe that the people we serve, and who pay for the services, need to have a say."

Fraser Reynolds, Liberal Democrat leader of Durham City Council, said: "It is important we get back to the people we represent.

"It is only a week since we went to the electorate and got four-year mandates from the people. If the Government want to cut short that mandate then I think the people of County Durham should have their say."

Derwentside District Council's Labour leader, Alex Watson, said he believed people would opt to keep the present system.

He said: "I'm confident people will vote for an enhanced working relationship with the county council and retain what we have rather than have a unitary council for the whole county."

The county council has criticised the planned referendum.

Labour leader Albert Nugent said: "The Government is investing heavily in taking soundings on the key areas of debate and we should be doing all we can to ensure it gets meaningful and constructive answers to help resolve this issue, and not be sidetracked by costly distractions like a so-called 'referendum'."

Ballot papers have to be returned by Monday, June 11.

* A survey for district councils in North Yorkshire by research agency Ipsos MORI showed 77 per cent would prefer to see the district and county councils working more effectively together rather than be replaced.

The public are being invited to a meeting to discover more about the proposals for a unitary authority in North Yorkshire, in Northallerton Town Hall, on Tuesday, at 7pm.