NCC 6th Council District
NCC 6th Council District: Community Diversity with Change
New Castle County's 6th District runs in an L-shape from north of Lums Pond State Park, south along the Delaware-Maryland border down to the Kent County line and across to the Delaware River. In the north, it includes unincorporated communities such as Back Creek, Dickerson Farms, Summit Bridge Farms, Whitehall, Bayberry South, Shannon Cove, and Meadow Vista. It includes the entire Town of Middletown and the Town of Townsend, as well as the expansive rural area in the most southern half of Southern New Castle County south of Townsend. It is a highly diverse district comprised of long-term residents in our historic towns and rural areas, with many new residents moving to towns and the rapidly developing neighborhoods in the north. It is a district experiencing unprecedented change and the challenges that come with these changes.
The NCC 6th District is one of the fastest-growing regions in the County. (As of the 2020 census and redistricting, the district included about 48,104 residents.) With this growth, we are benefiting from one of the strongest local economies in the region and the many new opportunities this growth provides. We now enjoy more options for jobs, entertainment, restaurants, and shopping. We have one of the best school districts in the State of Delaware, despite the many challenges of keeping up with increased enrollment levels. We come together for community events like Townsend Annual Parade & Fair, and more. These are just some of the benefits and conveniences that have come with our growing population and provide quite a contrast when not long ago residents were unable to buy a pair of socks without driving a long distance.
In addition to this growth in the northern areas of the District, we still have a prospering rural community in the south. We are blessed with extensive areas of working land that provides sustainable jobs through farming and forestry while protecting some of the most valuable natural areas in the State. Most notable of these natural treasures are the extensive undeveloped forestland area in the Blackbird-Millington Corridor (BMC) and the Delaware Bayshore Area. The Bayshore runs along the Rt. 9 corridor and the BMC is an expanse of rural land from the Delaware River to Millington, Maryland. Our rural community is strengthened by its close linkages to growing towns but is also threatened by this land development that reduces the total acreage necessary to keep the agricultural economy viable.
Changes to the 6th District have provided many benefits, but also have come with significant growing pains. The growth has left us in need of better county services including community parks, a larger library, a paramedic station, more assistance for maintenance corporations in our unincorporated communities, a formal program for protecting agricultural lands, a more diverse tax base to pay for schools, and a need of additional affordable housing. These are all challenges that we can work together to create a better future in the 6th District.