A community governance review is a legal process where a council can ask the public and other interested parties about the most suitable way of representing local communities.
Community Governance Reviews update
We have issued a press release following completion of the initial stage of consultation.
What is a community governance review?
A community governance review enables us to review and put in place, or make changes to community governance systems and structures, for example by creating, merging, abolishing or changing parish or town councils in the review area.
The government has emphasised that the aim of a review should be to bring about improved community engagement, more cohesive communities, better local democracy and result in more effective and convenient delivery of local services.
Why are we doing them?
We have a legal duty to carry out a community governance review if we receive a valid petition. We have received petitions for the Crook and Durham City areas. The petition for the Durham City area did not include the required number of signatures of eligible electors. However, we acknowledge the existence of the petition and that it provides evidence of the wishes of those communities to undertake a community governance review.
Who is carrying out the reviews?
We are responsible for undertaking any review within the boundaries of County Durham. Our full council is responsible for agreeing the terms of reference for the review and agreeing any draft or final recommendations. A number of functions have been delegated to an all-party working group whose role is to oversee the entire review process, propose terms of reference, provide initial options for consideration and produce recommendations for consideration by the full council.
How you can have your say
You can find out more details for the reviews for Crook and Durham on their individual pages.
Further background information
You can view the 
notes of the Constitution Working Group.pdf (3 pages, 19kb) meetings for the period July to October 2011. This is the all-party working group overseeing the reviews.
The full council has considered two reports prior to the the launch of the review:
For anybody wishing to know more about community governance reviews, guidance has been produced by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).