EDITOR'S CHOICE TALKING POINT Axe proposed for 81 post offices EATING OUT Michaelangelo’s, Darlington Road, Neville’s Cross EATING IN Prawn Cocktail PAST TIMES Of Pembertons and pits – a tale of three villages GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Meet the new chief executive of unitary authority 2 Teenager unintentionally killed his friend 3 Houghall College goes on sale next week 4 Race for Life seeks volunteers 5 ‘Students are causing more trouble than ever’ 6 Funeral held for businessman 7 Thieves warned to expect prison after officer hurt 8 All these initials, it's just OTT - View from the Lumley End 9 Agreement to tackle use of carrier bags 10 Point gives Durham home advantage against Tykes Today | 7 Days 1 Go-ahead likely for office plans despite MP’s concern 2 Thanks for support

Comment

THE leader-elect of Durham County Council has set out an upbeat vision for the county, saying it could rival any of the region's economic heavyweights.

Coun Simon Henig, who is expected to become leader of Durham County Council next week, said the county should "rival, if not exceed" recoveries seen in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland.

Coun Henig, 38, said: "I want to build County Durham's position to be at the heart of the North-East and a big player nationally."It's a big and exciting agenda and I feel I have the experience, and the youth and enthusiasm, to deal with it."

Speaking four days after being elected leader of the council's controlling Labour group, Coun Henig explained how he joined the party during the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, concerned at the actions of the Thatcher government of the time.

Coun Henig will become council leader as County Durham prepares for the biggest local government shake-up seen in the region since the 1970s.Next April, the county council and seven district councils will be replaced by an all-purpose unitary authority, which will manage 22,000 employees and an annual budget of £1bn.

Coun Henig admitted the change would be difficult, calling for all parties to work together to make it a success.

He said his priorities would be narrowing the North-South divide, improving education, creating a wider range of jobs, cutting crime and contributing to a clean and green environment.

Coun Henig refused to be drawn on the suspension of former council leader Albert Nugent over a row over women candidates, saying only he wanted the issue to be resolved as quickly as possible. He is set to become leader on May 23.

5:13pm Thursday 15th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login