Since 1997, the council has been consistently high-performing with positive feedback from corporate and peer reviews and key stakeholders. The council is the third smallest unitary council in the country, and its size brings both challenges and opportunities in equal measures. The council is well known for having very strong partnerships - and as a small council, we need to be innovative yet pragmatic to get things moving.

Our size means we can be fleet of foot and get things done quickly with a strong governance framework and robust financial management process.  

The council has a strong track record of creative and innovative delivery. There are many examples to illustrate our successful partnership working with the private sector and other public bodies. One in particular is a shared services public/public partnership with Stockton on Tees Borough Council to provide back-office services to both councils and other public bodies. 

Our partnering success goes much wider than the provision of services, as we create initiatives and interventions to improve outcomes for the residents and businesses of Darlington and we are proud of such initiatives as Darlington Cares, a private/public partnership to encourage volunteering with businesses. Our housing joint venture with Esh Homes is another example which continues to deliver much-needed homes and financial returns to the council. The council are participating in a collaboration with Tees Valley and other North East Councils to procure a Tees Valley energy recovery facility as part of our waste management services and working to introduce food waste collections by April 2026.

The past decade has seen significant notable economic growth with the town centre hosting the newly arrived Darlington Economic Campus, home to seven Government Departments and 1,400 civil service jobs. This adds to an already strong Government cluster in the town with DfE, Student Loans Company and Disclosure Barring Service already established in Darlington. We have a Teesside University campus, which offers health and life sciences study programmes, as well as being home to the National Horizons Centre, a centre for excellence for the biosciences and healthcare sector. Significant growth in logistics and wider manufacturing brings further opportunities with new speculative manufacturing units ready for occupation from December 2024.

Darlington takes great pride in its Quaker and railway heritage as the birthplace of the passenger railway. In 2025, we will celebrate its 200th anniversary with what promises to be a fantastic year-long programme of events and activities. A key highlight will be Hopetown, our newly opened visitor attraction, which aims to attract over 300,000 visitors annually.

We are not complacent, some of the key challenges the Council faces are:

• Narrowing the gaps in, and creating, opportunities for residents - Darlington is a borough of significant variations in opportunity in terms of health and wellbeing, one of the most extreme examples being life expectancy, which for a male in the most deprived ward is significantly years less than that of a male in the most affluent ward. 

• Accelerating growth in the economy – Darlington outperforms much of the North East region and has great assets in that Darlington is well placed with great rail, road and air links. However, although employment rates are good, the average wage level is lower than we would want, so one of our key focuses is attracting more well-paid sustainable jobs to benefit all our residents.

• Finances -like many Local Authorities the council is facing significant financial pressures, particularly around children’s social care, adult social care, temporary housing and waste. We have a strong track record of innovation and savings delivery with a continual improvement ethic running through our core. Our current transformation programme is focused on preventative measures and initiatives to reduce demand and mitigate the pressures. It is, however, a large challenge which cannot be understated. 

Our Council Plan sets out our clear ambition and aspirations to meet these challenges and others and the plan forms a framework for us to work successfully with partners and businesses across the Borough. 

Darlington sits within the Tees Valley region and works closely with the four neighbouring councils and jointly the five councils established the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) which leads to strategic economic growth for the region. 

The five leaders of the councils form the TVCA Cabinet, along with the directly elected Mayor, Ben Houchen. The wider region is well placed to take advantage of the new opportunities and Darlington is in a strong position to capitalise given its location and strong partnerships. In the next few years, we have an unprecedented forward programme of transformational capital schemes with public and significant private investment.