The Civic Mayor of Durham City

10/08/2026

Building Bridges Across the Atlantic! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
On Friday morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Oxhill Youth Club from Stanley who met their wonderful visitors all the way from Tampa, Florida!
Through this incredible exchange program, teenagers from County Durham are hosting their American guests and showing off the very best of our North East hospitality and culture before heading State-side themselves next year.
Programs like this create lifelong friendships, broaden horizons, and highlight the brilliant young people we have here in Durham.
Special thanks to ITV News Tyne Tees for capturing the story—make sure to watch to the end to catch a glimpse of our morning together! 👇
📺 Watch the feature here: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/county-durham-teenagers-host-exchange-students-from-florida/305vbz1

Watch the latest from ITV News - The youth group from Great Tampa Bay have been seeing the sights of the North East with Oxhill Youth Club from Stanley, who'll head state side next year.

10/08/2026

The civic duties continued on Monday, 3rd August, as I chaired the historic Lammas meeting of the Durham City Freemen in the Guildhall at Durham Town Hall.
Why is the Lammas Guild Day Special?
Centuries of Heritage: The Freemen of Durham trace their history back to medieval trade guilds. Meetings have been held for hundreds of years to conduct official guild business, swear in new freemen, and preserve local crafts and customs.
The Lammas Tradition: Lammas (traditionally celebrated around August 1st) marks the medieval harvest festival. In Durham, the quarterly Lammas Guild Day is one of four traditional gatherings held each year by the wardens and freemen.
The Guildhall: Built originally in 1356 by Bishop Hatfield and redesigned in 1665, the Guildhall inside Durham Town Hall remains the ceremonial heart of the city’s trade guilds, surrounded by centuries of local civic history and city silver.
It is always a privilege to chair these gatherings and help keep Durham's rich heritage alive! 🌾📜

10/08/2026

Honouring Civic Tradition in Peterlee & Durham City 🏛️
On Sunday, 2nd August, I had the pleasure of attending the civic service in Peterlee to support the Mayor of Peterlee, Cllr Mary Cartwright. It was a wonderful opportunity to join neighboring communities in celebrating public service across County Durham.

31/07/2026

Mayors Charity Night Coming Soon should be a cracking charity night tickets are expected to sell quick for the event and we will let you know when they on sale

30/07/2026

A huge thank you to the members and residents of Brandon and Byshottles parish council for their very generous donation to this years Mayoral charity, it was a pleasure to be invited along to receive it
Mayoral Charities St Cuthberts Hospice & Point North

29/07/2026

Last week I attended the civic service of Sedgefield’s Mayor Ciaran at the lovely St John Fisher Church and on Wednesday I had the pleasure of being the speaker at the Rotary lunch at Brancepeth Golf Course, where I shared with them the history of the Mayorality along with detail of this years mayors charity.

18/07/2026

17/07/2026

As Mayor of Durham, it was a pleasure to attend the screening of Paula Radcliffe: Chasing Stars at the Gala Theatre last night.

It was a fantastic evening, with the film followed by a fascinating live podcast and Q&A featuring the legendary Paula Radcliffe and Steve Cram. Their insights into Paula’s remarkable career, the challenges she overcame, and the dedication required to compete at the very highest level of athletics were truly inspiring.

A wonderful event celebrating one of Britain’s greatest sporting icons. Thank you to everyone involved in making it such a memorable evening.

14/07/2026

Mayor Welcomes people from all over to our great City

14/07/2026

This years charities picked by Mayor Cllr Amanda Hopgood is once again St Cuthberts Hospice and also Point North two great Charities