Bishop Auckland Town Council was established in May 2007. It has 11 Councillors who are elected every four years. The next election will be held in May 2025.
All councillors live in Bishop Auckland and party-political considerations are very much secondary to the well-being of their town.
The Town Council’s aims and values are set out in the following Mission Statement:
“Working in partnership to improve the quality of life for all those who live, work, visit or invest in Bishop Auckland.”
In doing so, the Council will:
Conduct business openly and democratically, and consult with local people.
- Act in the best interests of local people in making appropriate representations to Durham County Council and other appropriate private and public sector groups.
- Deliver services to the highest quality in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and value for money.
- Continue to build relationships with the community and voluntary organisations and with the statutory, public and private sector.
- Encourage and promote economic and commercial long terms plans for the town through partnership working.
- Recognise and support diversity and seek to strengthen the inclusion of all residents of Bishop Auckland.
Bishop Auckland Town Council has an office based at Kingsway Court, 54 Kingsway Bishop Auckland. It currently employs a full time Town Clerk, a full time Assistant Town Clerk, and full time Admin Assistant.
The town is also served by Durham County Council, who has responsibility for the following areas:
- Rubbish and Recycling
- Council Tax
- School and Education
- Benefits and Support
- Roads and Transport
- Leisure and Culture
- Social and Health
- Planning Property and Environment
- Libraries and Archives
- Children and Families
- Environmental Issues
- Housing
- Crime and Community Safety
- Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Voting and Elections
Civility and Respect Pledge
Bishop Auckland Town Council, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), and One Voice Wales (OVW), believe now is the time to put civility and respect at the top of the agenda and start a culture change for the local council sector.
There is no place for bullying, harassment, and intimidation within our sector and signing up to the Civility and Respect Pledge is one of the ways a council can demonstrate that it is committed to standing up to poor behaviour across our sector, and to demonstrating positive changes which support civil and respectful conduct.
By the Town Council signing up to the Civility and Respect Pledge we are demonstrating that our council is committed to treating councillors, clerks, employees, members of the public, representatives of partner organisations, and volunteers, with civility and respect in their role, and that it:
- has put in place a training programme for councillors and staff.
- has signed up to the Code of Conduct for councillors.
- has good governance arrangements in place including staff contracts and a Dignity at Work policy.
- will seek professional help at early stages should civility and respect issues arise.
- will commit to calling out bullying and harassment if and when it happens.
- will continue to learn from best practice in the sector and aspire to being a role model / champion council e.g., via Local Council Award Scheme.
- supports the continued lobbying for change in legislation to support the civility and respect, including sanctions for elected members where appropriate.
