Competition set to take a different direction in Durham town (7)
I believe the answer is:
contest
'competition' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'set to take a different direction in durham town' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
an anagram of 'set' is 'tes' which is located in the answer.
'take' could be 'con' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'con' is found within the answer.
'town' could be 't' (common abbreviation eg in football team names) and 't' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for contest that I've seen before include "Match" , "Competition; dispute" , "Competition or conflict" , "Tournament" , "Oppose - competition" .)