The new City of Durham Parish Council has been asked to take part in Durham University’s community relations task force.

But it says it will not take part unless the university changes its terms of reference to acknowledge the impact of student growth.

Councillor Alan Doig said: “The current terms of reference doesn’t talk about the elephant in the room which is the impact of university expansion. It’s quite clear the university is going ahead with it. It has started on the buildings and now it needs the bodies. It’s a given.

“Some residents are concerned about the current level of student disorder. We suggest the university might want to be careful about how it’s going to expand numbers.

“In certain areas of the city it will have a huge impact on the daily lives of residents. The issue is how to manage it.”

A university spokesperson said the terms were still in draft. He said: “We previously amended them to take into account the views of residents from our Residents’ Forum. Unfortunately, councillors were unable to attend the first meeting in which these terms were discussed, but we would be very happy to meet with them at the next task force meeting and listen to any concerns they may have.”

Parish councillors are due to meet with the university’s liaison officer Hannah Shepherd next week.

The scope of the task force is to have “positive stakeholder engagement”, “building students’ sense of belonging and responsibility” and the creation of sub groups to explore specific themes, entitled “economic”, “cultural”, “citizenship”, “lived environment” and “Durham for all”.

The university has faced significant opposition from city residents since it announced its 10-year growth strategy, which includes plans for new buildings and infrastructure and expanding the number of student numbers to 21,500 by 2027.

Work has already started on some projects, including a new teaching and learning centre in South Road.

Growth in student numbers has already led to the university having to schedule 8am lectures next year because of the pressure on teaching space.