ONE of the region's councils has been criticised after an independent inspection found it had poor leadership and a high staff turnover.

Chester-le-Street District Council also struggled to manage its resources and spent only ten per cent of a £3.5m budget from its housing capital programme.

The Audit Commission has carried out inspections in all district councils in the region and has produced performance assessments to give local people a report on how their councils performed.

Other district and borough councils fared better. City of Durham was rated fair, Easington was excellent, Sedgefield good, Wear Valley fair and Derwentside good.

Inspectors found that Chester-le-Street council was poor and had not consulted with residents to find out what its priorities were.

It lacked a permanent chief executive and had a number of human resources issues, including high sickness and staff turnover.

Interim chief executive Bernadette Marjoram said: "We are committed to seeing through the necessary changes and addressing the challenges set out in the report."

Sarah Diggle, of the Audit Commission, said: "It is now showing signs of recovery, but it will take time to tackle the problems left by poor political and managerial leadership."

The report said the council has reduced crime effectively in partnership with the police and had improved in the past six months, after a new council was elected last May.

It found Sedgefield borough council provided good services and worked hard to revive the local economy, but that it did not do enough to meet young people's needs.

Easington had improved the economy, public spaces, housing market and worked well with other agencies.

Good quality services such as recycling and housing were provided by City of Durham, but it did not have detailed plans on what it wanted to achieve for residents.

It had helped to regenerate areas of the district and undertaken employment initiatives.

Wear Valley also needed clearer priorities, but it offered good services for young people.

Housing and street cleanliness services provided by Derwentside were good, it managed its budget successfully and engaged well with young people.

Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford said: "I welcome the publication of the results and I especially congratulate Easington council, which has been rated excellent."