Partnership working is the key to most successful organisations and the County Durham Association of Local Councils continually strives to enter into productive partnerships which are mutually beneficial.
- Apart from other parish councils our closest partner is the National Association of Local Councils which represents the views of 9,000 parish and town councils across England and Wales
- The Chairman of CDALC is a member of the County Durham Partnership (CDP) Forum. This is the Local Strategic Partnership for County Durham
- We also have links to the Altogether Greener Thematic Partnerships through the Executive Officer.
- Several of our Executive Committee members work closely with the County Council as co-opted members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and other bodies throughout the County
- Association members are apointed to the County Councils Area Action Partnerships Boards and participate in thirteen of the fourteen AAP‘s throughout the County. These members form the link between parish councils and the AAP. We have at least one local councillor on each AAP Board throughout the County
- Local councils can also raise issues via AAP co-ordinators and are encouraged to invite their local co-ordinator to CDALC sub committee meetings to give regular updates alongside the town and parish council representative
- The Consett AAP area is not parished we therefore have no representation on this Board. All parish councils should work with AAP‘s and representatives are invited to attend all AAP forum meetings
- We work very closely with the Cleveland and Durham branch of the Society of Local Council Clerks attending their branch meetings whenever possible
- The County Council has two Local Council Support Officers and we work in conjunction with them.The Local Councils Support Team has been established within Durham County Council to develop, implement and monitor the Town and Parish Councils Charter, and to ensure strong and effective relationships are established between Local Councils, the County Council and other Partners
- The Durham Rural Community Council is one of our closest partners and they provide invaluable assistance to parish councils with Parish Planning and Village Hall queries