Councillor Bill Dixon to stand down as Leader

Councillor Bill Dixon has today announced that he will stand down as Leader of Darlington Borough Council in July.

He will stand down at the next meeting of Full Council on 19 July, when a new Leader will take office.

Cllr Dixon will continue as a ward councillor for Eastbourne until the Local Elections in May next year, at which he will not seek re-election.

By next May, he will have served as a councillor in Darlington for 40 years.

Paul Wildsmith, Managing Director of Darlington Borough Council, said: “I’d like to be among the first to thank Bill for his many years of dedicated public service in Darlington as an elected member and as the Leader of the Council.

"He has always been a passionate advocate for Darlington and while he may be standing down as the Leader, I have no doubt this will continue in his final few months as a councillor, and beyond that into what we hope will be a long and happy retirement.”