Get Involved

Peterlee Town Council is a local council serving the people of Peterlee. The Council spends over £2million each year and provides a range of services including parks and play areas, the town cemetery, the Pavilion sports and community center, and a range of town events including the garden competition, children's pantomime, and grant support to a wide range of local community groups.

There are a number of ways to get involved in the work of Peterlee Town Council and to influence the decisions that we make and the services that we provide.

1. Vote, or even become a Councillor yourself!
All 22 members of Peterlee Town Council are elected by local residents, either in the main elections held in May every 4 years or through by-elections if a seat on the Council becomes available in between the main elections. The next main elections will be in May 2025.

Local residents can identify and nominate candidates for election, and there is a very useful guide to this process published by the Electoral Commission here. In summary, candidates must be over 18, be a British citizen (or a qualifying commonwealth or EU citizen) and must also meet at least one of the following four criteria:
- registered as an elector in the Town;
- lived in the Town for at least 12 months;
- worked in the Town as your main place of work during the past 12 months; and/or
- lived in, or within 3 miles, of the Town for at least 12 months.
There are a number of disqualifying factors for being a local councillor including being a council employee, being subject of bankrupcy or interim order, or being sentenced to a prison term of more than three months in the last 5 years. More information is available on the electoral commission website or feel free to contact the Acting Town Clerk Ian Hall by email at ian.hall@peterlee.gov.uk or phone 0191 5862491 for an informal discussion.

Elections are administered by Durham County Council, and you can find out more about how to register to vote, the voting process, and election notices/results on their website here: http://www.durham.gov.uk/elections

2. Come to a Council meeting
Our main Committee meetings are held on the first and second Monday evening of each month (excluding May and August) and a Full Council meeting is held at 6.30pm on the fourth Monday of each month.  All Council and committee meetings are held in the Council chamber in Shotton Hall and are open to the public. View our meetings diary for further information, or take a look at our upcoming agenda and minutes of previous meetings here. If you would like to find out more about coming to one of our committee meetings please contact the Democratic Services Team at democratic.services@peterlee.gov.uk or 0191 5862491.

3. Get involved in a working group
The Council runs a number of working groups during the year to help inform decisions that we make. Current working groups include a Woodhouse Park Working Group that includes 4 local councillors, a number of local residents, Council staff, a community artist and a Police PCSO. To find out more about opportunities to get involved in a working party please contact the Democratic Services Team at democratic.services@peterlee.gov.uk or 0191 5862491

4. speak to one of your local Councillors
You can find a list of local ward councillors here. A number of local councillors are currently involved in the new 'Cuppa with a Copper and a Councillor' sessions across the town. For more information about these sessions keep an eye out for the Police's facebook posts here: https://www.facebook.com/peterleepolice/ as well as on the Council's website and facebook pages.