History of our Town Council

There are 12 Councillors with a Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Details of current Membership can be found on the Mayor and Councillors section of our website. Town Councillors, unlike County Councillors and the former Teesdale District Councillors, are unpaid and receive no allowances – they work on an entirely voluntary basis.

Parish and town councils in England are the first-tier of local Government with Durham County Council being the second in a two-tier system. The town council is the voice of the community, representing its needs and working to deliver the services it requires.

Parish and town councils have a large range of powers with the activities and services they are involved in covering a wide and varied range. For further information about the ‘Services’ and ‘Other Responsibilities’ carried out by Barnard Castle Town Council please select the relevant link.

When The Baliols, the medieval owners of the castle, gave charters to the town and encouraged self-government, this led to the Borough Court and the Vestry. By the nineteenth century local services were administered by the Board of Health and, in 1894, the Urban District Council.

That structure remained until 1974.  With the creation of Teesdale District Council, the management of the many functions was communities across Teesdale. As part of that reorganisation, a new parish of Barnard Castle, on the boundary of the old Urban District was created.  The newly created parish council adopted the status of a town council with its chair holding the title of Town Mayor. After some initial uncertainty regarding duties and responsibilities, the town council took over the responsibility for Christmas lights, floral displays and children’s playing fields, all of which are still services carried out today.

The town clerk originally worked from home but, as the responsibilities grew, the town council moved into its first office in Barnard Castle on 29th November, 2004. The single-storey offices were located within the centre of Barnard Castle at 44B Galgate, although the entrance door was actually on Marshall Street.

In 2009 Teesdale  District Council was abolished and all principal local government services were gathered into the new Unitary Durham County Council.

In 2015, the town council successfully bid to take over the lease of Woodleigh on Scar Top, which had been offices for Barnard Castle UDC and Teesdale District Council from 1949 to 2009. The town council made a business case to lease the building for 15 years, with its partner organisations County Durham Citizens Advice Bureau and the Association of Teesdale Day Clubs.

The town council moved to Woodleigh in March 2016.