Borough of Darlington

The town of Darlington was made a municipal borough in 1867. In 1915 it was elevated to become a county borough, taking over county-level functions from Durham County Council. The borough was reformed and enlarged on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It absorbed nearly all of the surrounding Darlington Rural District, with the exception of the parish of Great Aycliffe (which covers the town of Newton Aycliffe) which went to Sedgefield district. The enlarged borough was also reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district as part of the 1974 reforms, with Durham County Council once more providing county-level services to the town. The borough remains part of County Durham for ceremonial purposes, with whom it continues to share certain local services, such as the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and Durham Constabulary. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority along with Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Unlike Darlington, the other four districts in the combined authority had all been part of the county of Cleveland between 1974 and 1996. ==Governance==

Darlington Borough Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: Lower-tier non-metropolitan district Unitary authority Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. An attempt to secure a referendum on having a directly elected mayor in 2006 was unsuccessful. The leaders since 1991 have been: Composition Following the 2023 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Elections Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 50 councillors, representing 20 wards, each of which elects two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. Premises The council is based at Darlington Town Hall on Feethams in the centre of Darlington. The building was purpose-built for the old county borough council and was completed in 1970. ==Settlements==

As well as Darlington itself the borough includes the surrounding villages of: It is home to Teesside International Airport (previously known as Durham Tees Valley Airport). == Demographics ==

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Darlington. Individuals • John Williams: 24 November 2011. • Alasdair MacConachie: 24 November 2011. Military Units • The Light Infantry: 1996. • The Rifles: 17 September 2010. == References ==