A FULL meeting of Durham County Council today (Wednesday, March 20) observed a minute’s silence in honour of two former councillors who have died recently. Father John Caden, a Roman Catholic priest in Sedgefield, was an independent council member for many years. He died last month, aged 89. Margaret Hamilton was a former mayor of Barnard Castle and Teesdale District Council chairman. She died last month, aged 88. The council formally recorded its thanks to both for their service.

COUNCIL PRAISE: Durham County Council leader Simon Henig today said his authority’s move to being a unitary council had been achieved successfully. Speaking at the last full council meeting before May’s elections, he said the 2009 shake-up had given Durham a stronger voice regionally and nationally and the council’s Area Action Partnerships, set up afterwards, had an extraordinary record of successful projects. Durham is now the sixth largest unitary council in the country, with 500,000 people across 900sq miles.