Politics

Councillors have called for a crackdown on fly-tipping at a Sunderland quarry site after a spate of fires in recent months.

Plans for a new council headquarters have been formally submitted by Durham County Council (DCC).

A burst hydraulic pipe on a council wagon racked up a £21,000 bill when it sprayed oil over a house and car.

A letter about a bus stop and a zebra crossing has prompted a row over spending at Sunderland City Council.

There are no plans to stop council workers using the weedkiller glyphosate – despite a US court ruling in favour of a gardener who claimed the chemical caused his terminal cancer.

Sunderland’s Liberal Democrats have been accused of shirking their responsibility to help improve the city’s struggling children’s services.

Budget cuts mean councils are under pressure to save every penny, and in Sunderland that means fewer places to spend one.

Plans to build hundreds of homes on Sunderland’s green belt will do nothing to help ease the affordable housing crisis, campaigners have warned.

A former library is to be turned into offices after plans were given the green light by council officers.

Part of Sunderland Civic Centre had to be closed this week following heavy rain.

A consultation for the public to give their views on what Hartlepool’s council ward map should look like has been extended.

The HQ of Sunderland City Council has been branded a "monstrous carbuncle" with calls for it to be demolished and replaced with housing, shops or a new train station.

An opposition councillor has stepped down from a committee scrutinising children’s services after branding Sunderland City Council’s Labour leadership as a “disgusting and dangerous farce”.

Young voters were able to voice their thoughts about the impact Brexit could have on Sunderland as a campaign calling for a People’s Vote on the final deal.

Plans to create a new YMCA hostel in Sunderland have divided Echo readers and sparked debate.

An enhanced CCTV surveillance suite used to monitor Sunderland’s night-time hot-spots continues to help police keep vulnerable revellers safe.

Managers of a Durham County Council department have been blasted for running it ‘like a fish and chip shop’.

A social club could be shut down this week following allegations of ‘criminal conduct’ on its premises.