A NORTH-East university and council have signed a new agreement to work more closely in a bid to raise the profile of County Durham.

Durham University and Durham County Council have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding, with the aim of raising the national and international profile of the area with governments and businesses.

The organisations have already worked together on a number of projects, including the North East Technology Park (NETPark) at Sedgefield and Durham and Lumiere light festival.

Jane Robinson, chief operating officer at Durham University, said: “We see the relationship with our local community and the wider region as critically important.

“We have a long and successful record of collaboration with Durham County Council across a range of economic, social and cultural interests and we believe this agreement will foster an even closer working relationship, which will be mutually beneficial.”

Terry Collins, chief executive of Durham County Council, said: “Durham County Council has a well-established relationship with Durham University and we are looking forward to building on the successes we have had already including the development of NETPark, the nationally recognised city water safety campaign and our work together on the development of an internationally recognised culture programme.

“Working closely together will allow us to continue to shine a light on our county as a great place to study, work, live and visit. Together we can celebrate Durham and ensure that regionally and nationally we promote the county’s huge offer.”

The new agreement formally commits both organisations to working together on priority areas including economic development, research, culture and heritage.

They hope to use research expertise to improve the quality of life for County Durham communities and say they will work together to make the North-East a focal point for culture.

Meanwhile, a new analysis of figures on the number of students getting first class degrees has revealed that Durham had the biggest rise over five years among Russell Group universities.

Just over 30 per cent of Durham students got the highest award in 2015/16 – a rise of 12.4 per cent since 2010/11.