A NORTH-EAST council is to discuss proposals for a change to the structure of local government in the region.
Sedgefield Borough Council will hold a full meeting on Wednesday and is expected to back the case for three unitary councils for County Durham.
All of the districts within the county, except Teesdale, have expressed strong support for the establishment of an elected regional assembly.
They appointed the Institute of Local Government Studies (Inlogov) to carry out a review of the options in County Durham in the event of a North-East assembly being set up.
The team proposed two options - a single unitary authority for the county, or dividing the county into three authorities.
Under the second option Sedgefield would form a South Durham authority with Wear Valley and Teesdale, Chester-le-Street and Derwentside would become North Durham, and Durham City and Easington would join forces.
The Inlogov team concluded that that the three authority model would be the "safer" option.
In a report to members of Sedgefield Borough Council, chief executive Norman Vaulks will recommend they work with other districts in County Durham to promote three unitary councils.
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