Durham county and its seven district councils have outlined their preferred options for council restructuring amid increasing concern that regional assemblies could cause big problems for housing.
Under the proposals for regional assemblies, councils will have to become unitary authorities to avoid the new assembly merely becoming an extra tier of bureaucracy.

Last Friday, county Durham proposed that either a single unitary authority or three separate authorities replace the seven Durham districts.

In general the move means many districts would merge with their neighbours, lumping together their housing and planning strategies.

Brian Spears, deputy chief executive of Durham City Council, said: “It would be a problem if one council had completed a stock transfer and retained its stock. I don’t really think the government has thought all this through. This would mean half of your stock won’t get the same investment as the other half.”

Source

Housing Today