Councillors

carole.lattin@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Carole came to Durham as a university student – and liked it so much, she never left. She lived in several areas of the city, raised children here, and worked locally – at New College, and other nearby colleges. She spent 8 years at North Tyneside College as Deputy Principal and 4 years as a national college inspector. She trained as a counsellor, volunteering with Relate and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and for the last 20 years worked as a counsellor in local GP surgeries. She was elected a Parish Councillor for the City of Durham 4 years ago, and is also a Parish Councillor for Belmont.

She is Vice Chair of Gilesgate Residents Association and on local Patient Participation groups. Her passions are the environment and the health and welfare of her community. She is an active member of The Friends of Pelaw Wood. She is especially proud of working with local residents to develop a Community Emergency Plan for the City. This went ‘live’ in February 2025 and she continues to work on its further development with all the volunteers who are supporting this.
The Environment committee, which she chaired for the last 4 years, successfully secured the recycling of pill blister packs, now adopted by Boots. We have procured a landlord’s voluntary levy to support the city during Green Move Out, and many areas of the city benefit from the planters and bulbs to enrich our environment.

mark.wilkes@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

victoria.ashfield@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Victoria was brought up and went to school in the northeast before taking a first degree at Birmingham University and a master’s degree at Warwick University.
She taught modern languages in the Midlands until 1984 when she moved into Local Government, working first as a school inspector and then, from 1990 until 2003, as a senior officer for Durham Local Education Authority. After retiring from education (as Director for Education for Cumbria County Council) she returned to Durham and re-qualified (at the age of 60) as a Psychotherapist and Counsellor, and worked for several years at Low Newton Women’s Prison.
In 2019, outraged by the May government’s £2bn “bribe” to the DUP, she decided to take political action and stood as a Labour Councillor when the City of Durham Parish Council was inaugurated. She has a passion for social justice and for the environment, and is active locally in a range of groups which are committed to fighting climate change.

She chaired the Environment Committee in the Council’s first term and is currently its vice-chair. She is also a member of the Planning and Licensing Committee and the Finance Committee.

Councillor Victoria Ashfield currently sits on the following Committees on the Parish Council:

david.freeman@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

David has lived in Durham all his life attending Neville’s Cross school, Durham Johnston school and New College, Durham before going to Leeds University. He has worked in local government in Durham and Gateshead as well as in various government department in the region. He is presently a civil servant at HM Passport Office in the city centre where he is also a union representative. For many years he served in the Army Reserve in the 7th (Durham) Battalion the Light Infantry based at Gilesgate.

He has been a city centre councillor since 2003, first on the previous City of Durham Council and since 2005 on Durham County Council where he is a key opposition councillor. He has particularly focused on planning in the city and has for 16 years been on the council’s planning committees where he has a record of opposing the many poor planning applications in the city. His other main focus has been on preserving the city’s green spaces and play areas. Along with his County Council ward colleague Richard Ormerod he was able to ensure all the area’s 5 play areas were improved and at Wharton Park that a £3million renovation took place.

David will be working to ensure that the parish council is a voice for the people of the city against those who wish to see it changed for the worse such as Durham County Council and Durham University and to ensure that the parish council makes Durham a better place to live and work.

Councillor David Freemen currently sits on the following Committees on the Parish Council:

liz.brown@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Liz was born and grew up in Durham City, 200m away from where she now lives. Liz went to University in Manchester where she helped set up a restaurant on cooperative lines in the city centre and got involved in the fledgling music scene. After leaving university, Liz went to London and worked at the BBC. Liz returned to Durham in 1985, married her husband and had four children; all of whom went to Neville’s Cross and then the Johnston schools. At this time, Liz was involved with the NCT and running the local playgroup. Liz then went to Houghall College and gained an RHS diploma in horticulture, set up her own gardening business and worked part time at Houghall Garden Centre for a couple of years. Liz then started work as nursery manager at Lionmouth Rural Centre which works with adults with learning difficulties and mental health problems
Liz has always had an interest in local issues, which led her to stand for election as County Councillor in 2017 and then as Parish Councillor in 2018. Liz likes to think that Cllr Elizabeth Scott and she have made a difference in Neville’s Cross and she hopes to continue doing so.

Councillor Liz Brown currently sits on the following Committees on the Parish Council:

grenville.holland@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Councillor Dr Grenville Holland is married to Olive and has lived in Durham City for 55 years. They have 3 sons and 3 grandchildren. He was educated at Oxford and Yale and joined the staff of the Department of Geology (now Earth Sciences) in 1965. Coupled to his teaching and administrative duties, for the next 40 years Grenville’s research enabled him to work with NASA on the Apollo Space programme analysing Moon rocks (1967-77) and his wider research interests took him to several overseas destinations: the West Indies, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Kashmir and Hungary. He was also invited by the students to become President of Durham University Cricket Club and for 34 years he mentored over 50 Test and county cricketers including 2 England captains, Hussain and Strauss, while their teams won national and international awards. In 1981, when working in Sri Lanka, he became a founder member of the SDP. In 1987 he was elected as a District councillor for the Framwelgate ward and has been a councillor ever since, serving with the County Council (Neville’s Cross division) from 2009 until 2017 and Durham City Parish Council since its inception in 2018. In 2008 he was made Mayor of Durham City.

Councillor Grenville Holland currently sits on the following Committees on the Parish Council:

Relly Mill Farm
Stonebridge
Durham
DH1 4TF

elizabeth.scott@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Elizabeth has represented the Neville’s Cross Ward on the County Council since 2017 and was elected as a Parish Councillor in May 2018.
Elizabeth’s professional background is in economic development and she currently runs her own business specialising in emotional wellbeing.

She has lived in Durham for most of her life and currently lives on a small farm on the outskirts of Durham City with her husband and four children. She is currently a Governor at the Durham Johnston school and is the past Chair of the Friends of St Margaret’s school.

Elizabeth is passionate about Durham and wants to see the city become a better place to live and work and is keen to see the local economy thrive. She is also keen to support local organisations who are making a difference in the lives of Durham’s residents and especially those who support the most vulnerable in society.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott currently sits on the following Committees on the Parish Council:

Roger grew up in London and Essex, going up to Birmingham University in 1965. In 1972 he moved with his partner Jean to Framwellgate Moor. Three years later they bought the house in The Avenue where they still live today.

A career in computing progressed through jobs with Northumberland County Council and British Telecom. Redundancy in 1998 led to a new career developing websites for local publishers and writers, some of them quite well known.

Roger has been active in various community and campaigning groups. He joined the City of Durham Trust in 1989, became a Trustee in 1998, and chaired it through the noughties. Successful representations at planning enquiries resulted in the establishment of the Durham Green Belt and resisting unneeded relief roads. Roger chaired the forum that drew up the Neighbourhood Plan. He has appeared before numerous planning committees, driven by a love of Durham and its people.

roger.cornwell@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

18 Little Court
Durham
DH1 5ZJ

Les, originally from South Shields, moved to Durham in 2020 to live with his partner who was born and raised in Durham. Les gained a Social Work degree from Northumbria University in 2017 and has worked in adult social services as a Social Worker across older adults, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health services since 2017, and recently worked for Durham County Council as a manager in Adults Learning Disabilities and Mental Health social services for 2 and half years. Les now works for Newcastle NHS trust as a Mental Capacity Act Practitioner.

Les is a member of the Green Party and is a staunch supporter of good local provisions, of social care and health services.

Les also enjoys living in Durham and the green environment in and around the city. Les is environmentally conscious and aims to protect our green spaces, our public transport links, and reduce emissions in Durham, while continuing to make Durham a great place to live.

les.wilson@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Fred grew up in Southport, then went on to Cambridge to study Geography. He came to Durham in 1973 to do a PhD on urban planning and development – and stayed. Since then, he’s undertaken a lot of research on economic and social change in the North East and the impact of public policy. He is a Professorial Fellow of St Chad’s College, Durham University.

He is Chair of Trustees at Waddington Street Centre, a community mental health resource centre in Durham. He is also a Trustee of Durham Community Action and a member of Waddington Street United Reformed Church.

Fred and his partner Sue have two children who were educated at Neville’s Cross Primary and then the Johnston school and Durham Sixth Form Centre. He is a firm believer in state provision of education, health and other public services. He joined the Labour Party over 40 years ago and was elected to the Parish Council in 2025.

fred.robinson@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

philip.layton@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Rory Handy is a long-standing local business owner who has proudly served the Durham City community for over 15 years.

He is raising his family here with his wife and their two young children, giving him a deep, personal understanding of the challenges and priorities faced by local residents. As both a parent and entrepreneur, Rory is closely connected to the everyday life of the city and is passionate about supporting families, strengthening small businesses, and maintaining a vibrant, inclusive community.

With strong roots in Durham, he is committed to ensuring it remains a great place to live, work, and grow for everyone.

rory.handy@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Originally from London, Tony Cleaver has been a journalist, hippy, teacher, road sweeper, mountain guide, university lecturer and writer. Over the years, he has lived and worked in five countries on three continents – the UK, Singapore, Chile, The Netherlands and Colombia – all of which have inspired him to write. Tony has authored two texts on economics, four novels and a collection of short stories. He loves mountains, cricket and his family. Tony has four sons, moved to Durham in 1993 and is inspired to support the local community and the Liberal Democrats he has found here.

tony.cleaver@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

ellie.hopgood@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

susan.walker@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Susan came to Durham in 1984 to study Chemistry, it was here that she met her husband and raised her three sons.
Susan’s working life has been as a researcher at various universities followed by a stint as a stay at home mum. She went on to become a teacher in science and maths for many years, before moving onto a portfolio career including tutoring and acting as a funeral celebrant. This has allowed her to spend more time to voluntary work. Susan is currently a trustee of North East Humanists and of Neville’s Cross Residents Association, she is also an active volunteer for the new Merryoaks Community Hall. In her spare time she enjoys gardening and grows many of her own vegetables.

Susan’s interests on the Parish Council are the environment, planning and licensing and she is committed to maintaining Durham as a wonderful environment to live and to work.