Parts of County Durham could be merged into Bishop and Sedgefield

The Boundary Commission for England's (BCE) review of parliamentary constituency boundaries is on the agenda for Durham County Council's meeting at 10am on Wednesday (March 23) in the council chamber at County Hall.

A working group said there was "strong opposition to the proposals" with no responses in favour of the initial ideas.

"COMPLETE NONSENSE!!" came the blunt response from one objector among comments listed in a council report.

Another unimpressed resident witheringly dubbed the proposals a "hotch-potch arbitrary drawing of lines".

Picture: NORTHERN ECHO

The proposals are criticised at one point for "splitting communities based on roads or footpaths rather than on how communities view themselves", while one disillusioned voter instructed: "Move us back to North Yorkshire."

One writer said the plans were "total madness", while a resident of 55 years, described as a former senior council officer dealing with planning and economic development, said the proposals were "deeply flawed".

Another contributor branded it "disgusting" and "a tactless and deliberate ploy".

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Town and parish councillors expressed opposition, one describing the changes as "unnecessary and disruptive".

There were responses from MPs and councillors, while political parties and members of the public handed in counter-proposals for how the map should be drawn.

The BCE is recommending "significant changes", with final recommendations to be made by July next year.

The number of constituencies in England will rise by 10, from 533 to 543, each with 69,000 to 77,000 voters.

Some wards will be split, with the initial proposals keeping just 7% of existing constituencies in the North East.

"The remainder are new constituencies," says the council's 226-page report.

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The BCE maintains that "in a number of cases, the changes to the existing constituencies are fairly minor".

Picture: CONTRIBUTOR

They propose to reduce the number of constituencies in the region from 29 to 27.

The proposals include:

• Bringing the Brandon ward from Durham into the Bishop Auckland constituency;
• Bringing the Coxhoe ward into the Sedgefield constituency, which will be renamed Newton Aycliffe and Sedgefield;
• Extending the City of Durham constituency into the borough of Sunderland "as far as Houghton-le-Spring";
• Moving Burnopfield and Dipton from North-west Durham to North Durham;
• Extending Easington to include the ward of Doxford from Sunderland, and changing the name to Seaham and Peterlee.Bishop Auckland town centre Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

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The working group said the majority of constituencies should fall within County Durham with crossovers "kept to an absolute minimum".

They said the commission should take account of established communities in neighbouring towns and villages and keep them in the same constituency rather than split them.

They requested the chance to comment on proposed constituency names to make sure they reflect geographical areas.

The current round of consultation continues until April 6, with public hearings in the North East on March 28 to 29, March 31 and April 1, and a further consultation towards the end of the year. Details can be found on the BCE website.

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