Reform UK - Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor

27/08/2026

No more early releases. No more soft justice.
Next stop: El Salvador. ✈️

25/08/2026

Have your say on the future of our buses – the consultation is open for responses until 28th of September 2026.

The truth is that the franchising model if poorly implemented can be extremely expensive for the tax payer, as the £1.5 billion deficit in Manchester demonstrates. It is also unlikely to bring any significant improvements in our isolated and rural areas. Durham County Council Reform UK think all of the options need to be investigated, this includes franchising, but it is certainly not the only option, ask for full service and cost comparison models to be done and made public before any decisions are made.

https://www.northeast-ca.gov.uk/consultations/haveyoursay

20/08/2026

New connecting service between Newton Aycliffe and Sedgefield, via Chilton. This service fills a gap in the network between the X11 and X21 Arriva services. Services were never quite the same after the lockdowns, and we hope this will bridge the gap!

19/08/2026

Reformers of Newton Aycliffe & Spennymoor,

You may have seen an article in the Northern Echo (now removed) relating to the statement of a former Reform UK County Councillor. We would like to set the record straight.

Cllr Catchpole was caught red handed leaking messages from a private WhatsApp group to people outside of that group who wish to do Reform UK harm. He was suspended and about to be sacked from the party. He resigned before HQ confirmed his removal and has since alleged some serious allegations about how the party handles mental health. Allegations we dispute categorically.

The sad truth is that this isn’t a one off. We have the receipts to show that Cllr Catchpole has also caused significant issues not just within Durham County Council, but within our local Reform UK branch.

In the last year he has been reprimanded on several occasions, including but not limited to:
• For repeatedly ignoring the chain of command
• For advocating in favour of Green policy directives, that run counter to Reform UK policy
• For attempting to incite discord within the Reform UK council group
• For putting the party at substantial legal and financial risk
• For releasing restricted information into the public domain
• For undermining leadership and trying to manipulate others to his agenda

Cllr Catchpole was given, chance after chance, and in each and every case he chose to work against this administration and betray the trust that was placed in him. There are more instances that we could document and I repeat, we have the receipts.

The worst thing here is that the people of Sedgefield voted for a Reform UK Councillor. What they got instead may well have been a Trojan horse from the very beginning. If Cllr Catchpole has any decency or sense of honour he should resign his post and fight a byelection.

Nevertheless our work continues and our group is stronger having removed Cllr Catchpole from our ranks. Nor will we hesitate to remove any others who put themselves above their County and Country.

Britain is Broken…

We will fix it.

19/08/2026

We've been working hard behind the scenes to make the Local Networks system efficient and fair. Now it's your turn. If you have ideas for improving your local community, apply! We want to fund the best ideas, particularly from those who have never done this before. It's your community - let's work together to make it better!

Applications close on the 30th of September!

County Durham community groups can now access an additional £1.2m of funding as part of our scheme that brings together residents, councillors, businesses and partner organisations to improve community life.

17/08/2026

Make your voice heard! Take part in the consultation on the Council Plan 2027-2031!



https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/36505

12/08/2026

Andy has NO Mandate!

We need a let’s make this happen.



Please SIGN and then SHARE the petition 👇

Nobody voted for Andy Burnham. He has no mandate. Sign the petition for a general election now.

31/07/2026

We are fighting every way we can!

Update: please use this link to email your MP: https://durhamsaysno.com/

Yesterday Durham County Council received the above letter from the home office. The pause that was in place for asylum accommodation has been lifted 😞. We, as a Council, fought hard to get this in place. Unfortunately they are now getting their partners, Mears, to start procurement (buying) properties to house asylum seeks.

I must stress Durham County Council can do nothing about this, this is a direct call of central government! If you read the letter you will notice that all 6 Durham MPs were in a meeting last month. Clearly they didnt resist as they haven't mentioned it, to us or you!

The worrying thing is: Mears will be looking for low cost housing, to maximise profits, like properties in Ferryhill. They wont care who moves in or in fact who lives next door.

We have done all we can to make this as difficult as possible, including the implementation of Article 4 and a new interim HMO (house of multiple occupation)

We will continue to fight for the residents of County Durham in anyway we can. We will be writing to Alan Strickland MP to share our disappointment in the lifting of the pause.

I would encourage you to do the same!
[email protected]

27/07/2026

Reform UK in Durham has been acting to clean up our neighbourhoods and following the success of the Spring Clean event, we will be launching the Autumn Clean, along with a host of other measure to come down on littering. We don't have to live with littering, together we can stamp it out!

21/07/2026

Your Reform Cllrs delivering to keep our communities together. Central government might not be listening, but we are. We will do whatever we can to fight the proliferation of HMOs in the County. Our message is simple, don’t come to County Durham!

At full council, following Cabinet, we accepted a new interim HMO policy. This will work alongside article 4! Meaning ALL HMOs must apply for full planning.

This comes into effect on mid August 2026.

Above illustration describes the limitations on where HMOs can be situated without overcrowding or having lots on a concentrated area.

I am proud to have 2nded this item at both Cabinet and Full Council.

If you want multiple HMOs in a small area for high profits without any regard for the locals, I'd avoid County Durham 😬