Durham to resume its historic position

Date: 2003-09-23, Publication: The Journal

Durham is to resume its historic position as the region's capital by hosting the elected North-East Regional Assembly if voters say they want one in a referendum next year.

Leaders of the unelected North-East Assembly confirmed to The Journal last night that they had struck a deal with Durham County Council to use a recently refurbished county council building as their base.

Local Government minister Nick Raynsford, on a tour of the North-East yesterday, backed plans to set up the elected assembly in Durham, saying there was "a lot of public support for it to be based at the historic capital of the North-East".

The choice of Durham will be seen as an attempt to avert rivalry between the major population centres of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside over the location of the new body.

It also has historical resonance. For a large part of the Middle Ages, the County Palatinate of Durham was almost an independent state within Britain, governed from the cathedral city.

If there is a Yes vote in next year's referendum, a regional assembly could be running within three years in Durham - along with a shake-up of two-tier local authorities which would be replaced with a string of unitary councils.

Until now, there has been no confirmation of where the regional assembly would be based, but concern had been expressed that placing it in Newcastle - where the unelected North-East Assembly is - would lead to a "Geordie Parliament".

Bob Gibson, leader of Stockton Council and leader of the North-East Assembly, said: "We have agreed to use a building recently refurbished by Durham County Council but no longer needed by them.

"We won't be replicating the fiasco with the Scottish Parliament by building a new centre. We can use existing buildings and there is a perfect one for us in Durham. There is no danger of a regional assembly being dominated by Newcastle."

Mr Raynsford said: "There is a very strong argument for basing a regional assembly in Durham, including its location and its history. I can see the reasons for basing it there, but ultimately it is up to the region to decide."

He said: "In about six weeks, the Government will be launching an information campaign to explain why we are proposing regional assemblies and what it will mean to people in the three areas voting.

"We think that if people are properly informed, they will want to go out and vote."

Durham City Council leader Sue Pitts welcomed the announcement. "It will confirm Durham's status as the administrative centre of the North-East and bring economic benefits as well," she said.

"Job losses when local government restructures will be unavoidable, but it is to be hoped that those losses can be absorbed by the assembly in Durham, where we have a strong skill base."

Back to Archive