Darlington Borough is a compact district. It comprises the town of Darlington and its surrounding rural area. The River Tees and North Yorkshire lie to the south, the Teesside conurbation to the east, County Durham to the north, and rural Teesdale to the west. Three national parks lie within easy reach of Darlington. Formerly a District within County Durham, Darlington Borough Council became a unitary authority on 1 April 1997. The Borough has a population of approximately 100,000, mostly living in the urban area. The area enjoys excellent communication links - a principal station on the East Coast rail mainline, the A1(M) Motorway and Teesside International Airport within its boundaries. The Town centre is of sub regional importance for shopping and services, and the town is also an important employment centre. The Borough is renowned for its Britain in Bloom success, floral displays plus arts and leisure provision. The award winning Market Place has been refurbished and is used extensively for community activities and cultural events. The Dolphin Centre is acknowledged as a leading leisure centre. The town’s Civic Theatre also enjoys a wide reputation and the Arts Centre provides a wide range of exhibitions and performing arts. Projections suggest that the Borough’s population will remain fairly stable through to 2011 at just over 100,000. Within the same time period however a number of variations will take place between the age groups with a reduction in the number of children and an increase in the numbers above retirement age. Average household size will drop significantly, however, so that by 2011 there will be 3,300 additional households, an increase of nearly 8%. The Darlington economy has experienced dramatic structural change over the past ten years with a shift from manufacturing to the service sector. Darlington is a medium sized town with an employed workforce of approximately 40,000. There are around 2,800 businesses, most of which are now in the service sector. The Orange communications company is the largest private employer in the Borough and the Darlington Building Society has its headquarters in the town. Generally, Darlington is an economy of small, owner managed businesses which co-exist with branch factories, offices and shops. Although a number of leading engineering companies remain, service sector employment will continue to dominate the local economy with further strong growth in tourism and miscellaneous services, female and part time employment. In March 1999 Darlington’s unemployment rate was 6.6% making it the lowest rate in the Tees Valley, below the average for the North East (7.7%) but still above the national average of 4.6%. There is concern however that that the decrease in the rate of unemployment is reducing in comparison with other northern areas. Despite the relative prosperity and positive image of the area as a whole, a number of wards experience relatively high levels of unemployment and related inequalities in health and educational achievement. In addition within individual wards there are pockets of multiple deprivation. A number of estates in the town are currently benefiting from regeneration initiatives, supported by Single Regeneration Budget, European Regional Development funds, Capital Challenge funding and the Capital Receipts Initiative. The re-introduction of assisted area status in 1999 to a large part of the Borough is also encouraging.

Darlington Borough Council - View jobs »

Darlington Borough Council

Employer profile

Explore Sector 1