Make your mind up (From Durham Times)

Make your mind up

7:30am Friday 18th May 2012 in Leader By Malcolm Warne

A MEETING to be held in Durham next week is one of the most important in the recent history of the city.

Although no decisions will be taken, the meeting of the Durham Area Action Partnership in the town hall on Monday night will be an important barometer of public sentiment towards the idea of a town council for the city and its suburbs.

It is fair to say the issue, which has been subject to an extensive consultation process of which Monday’s meeting is a part, has not gripped the public’s imagination, even though the creation of a Durham Town Council could add about £40 to every council taxpayer’s annual bill.

Perhaps that’s not entirely surprising, given that elections to a county council with a multi-million pound budget made up of our money, typically attract only a third of voters.

We have previously stated that we think Durham deserves a democratic body devoted entirely to the affairs of the city, that a city of such heritage and beauty should have a distinctive voice.

But, if the people of the city don’t engage with the process of deciding whether there should be a new council for the city, and the exact form it should take, the county council will be forgiven for deciding the city doesn’t really want it.

Durham’s residents need to say what they want and Monday’s meeting would be a good place to do so.