Cumberland (unitary authority)

For other districts named Cumberland, see Cumberland district.

Cumberland
Unitary authority area
Top: Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall at Birdoswald Bottom: Workington and Whitehaven
Cumberland shown within Cumbria
Coordinates: 54°53′41″N02°56′11″W / 54.89472°N 2.93639°W / 54.89472; -2.93639
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	North West
Ceremonial county	Cumbria
Historic county	Cumberland (part)
Incorporated	1 April 2023
Administrative HQ	Carlisle
Government [1]
• Type	Unitary authority with leader and cabinet
• Body	Cumberland Council
•  Control	Labour
•  Leader	Mark Fryer (L)
• Chairman	Carni McCarron-Holmes
•  Chief Executive	Andrew Seekings
•  House of Commons	4 MPs Trudy Harrison (C) Neil Hudson (C) Mark Jenkinson (C) John Stevenson (C)
Area [2]
• Total	1,163 sq mi (3,012 km2)
• Rank	8th
Population  (2021) [3]
• Total	273,815
• Rank	61st
• Density	240/sq mi (91/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	CA
GSS code	E06000063
Website	cumberland.gov.uk

Cumberland is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England, ^{[4] [5] [6]} which means that is a non-metropolitan county and district. It borders Scotland, Northumberland, Westmorland and Furness, and the Irish Sea. Part of the area is in the Lake District National Park and notable landmarks include Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle Castle and Hadrian's Wall.

In comparison to the historic county of Cumberland that existed before 1974, the district covers 77% of its area (excluding Penrith area) and 90% of its population. When created, in April 2023, it took over the northern and western part of the 1974–2023 Cumbria non-metropolitan county's administration and the corresponding former Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland districts, while the new Westmorland and Furness unitary authority took over the remainder. ^{[7] [8]}

History

Elections to Cumbria County Council were due to take place in May 2021 but were postponed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for one year due to a consultation on local government reorganisation in the area. ^[9] In July 2021, the government announced that the current authorities in Cumbria would be abolished and replaced with two unitary authorities in the form of an 'east/west split' of the county. ^[10]

Opponents of the reorganisation claimed that the proposal was pursued to benefit the electoral prospects of the Conservative Party. Cumbria County Council, which would be abolished under the plans, sought judicial review to prevent the reorganisation from taking place. ^[11] The judicial review was refused by the High Court in January 2022. ^[12] Draft statutory instruments to bring about local government reorganisation in Cumbria were subsequently laid before parliament. ^[8] The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022 (2022 No. 331) ^[13] was made on 17 March 2022 and came into force the following day. ^[14]

Governance

The first elections to Cumberland Council took place in May 2022, with the council acting as a 'shadow authority' until the abolition of the three former district councils and Cumbria County Council on 1 April 2023. ^[15] Labour won a majority with 30 seats. ^[16] The Conservatives have 7 seats, Liberal Democrats 4 seats, independents 3 seats and the Green Party 2 seats. Turnout was 36.1%. ^[17]

Cumberland and the neighbouring Westmorland and Furness continue to form the ceremonial county of Cumbria for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalties, being presided over by a Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria and a High Sheriff of Cumbria. ^{[18] [19]}

Police services are provided by Cumbria Constabulary and fire services by Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. These are both overseen by the Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. ^[20]

High Sheriffs pay attention to the work of such statutory bodies as the Police, the Prison Service and the Probation Service. ^[21]

Twinnings

Settlement	Twinned settlement
Carlisle	Flensburg, Germany Słupsk, Poland
Cockermouth	Marvejols, France
Whitehaven	Kozloduy, Bulgaria [22]
Workington	Selm, Germany Val-de-Reuil, France

Geography

A coastal scene in Whitehaven

Major settlements

Workington Aspatria Cockermouth Harrington Keswick Maryport

Silloth Wigton Carlisle Brampton Dalston Longtown

Whitehaven Arlecdon and Frizington Cleator Moor Egremont Millom St Bees

Neighbouring council areas

District	In relation to the district
Dumfries and Galloway	North
Scottish Borders	North east
Northumberland	East
Westmorland and Furness	South

Economy

• Associated British Ports Holdings own and operate the port of Silloth. ^[23]
• Plastic film maker Innovia Films has its headquarters and only UK factory in Wigton, which employs almost 1,000 people and is Wigton's biggest employer.
• Sealy Beds UK (which is part of the Silentnight Group) own a factory at Aspatria, which employs around 300 people.
• Carr's is a successful foodstuff and agricultural brand that was established in 1831 in Carlisle. ^[24] It owned a large factory at Silloth which makes the 'Carr's Breadmaker' range and at one time Carr's farm feeds. This has been sold to Whitworths.
• Window maker West Port Windows owns a large factory at Maryport, which makes UPVC windows and doors.
• World rally company M-Sport has its headquarters at Dovenby Hall, Dovenby, near Cockermouth.
• Swedish paper maker Iggesund Paperboard has its only UK factory at Siddick, near Workington.
• U.S.-based Eastman Chemical Company had a factory at Siddick, near Workington. It made plastic bottle pellets and products for the smoking industry and employed 100 people. This has been subsequently demolished and production transferred overseas.
• Steel company Tata Steel owns a cast products plant at Workington, which employs 300 people.
• Eddie Stobart Logistics owns a large warehouse at Workington, which was once owned by truck and bus maker Leyland.
• Packaging company Amcor owns the former Alcan packaging plant at Salterbeck, Workington.
• James Walker Ltd, an international high-performance sealing manufacturer, has a large factory at Cockermouth.
• Close to 1,000 people work in one of only two Pirelli tyre plants in the UK. ^[25]
• Stobart Group owns the Carlisle Lake District Airport and its rail maintenance business is based in Carlisle.
• Eddie Stobart, which is one of the UK's largest logistics companies, used to be headquartered in Carlisle. ^[26]
• Nestlé operates a factory on the outskirts of Carlisle. ^[27]
• Cavaghan & Gray (owned by the by 2 Sisters Food Group) is a food manufacturing business based in Carlisle and a significant employer in the city.
• Crown Holdings owns two factories in Carlisle, locally known as 'Metal Box'. Both factories make products for the beverage industry.
• Edinburgh Woollen Mill announced plans to move their HQ from Langholm, Scottish Borders to Carlisle. ^[28]
• Sellafield is the largest private employer in the county; many West Cumbrians have links to the site. ^[29]

See also

• 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England

References

1. "Councillors and committees". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
2. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
3. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
4. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
5. "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk . Retrieved 16 May 2023.
6. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
7. "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
8. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
9. "Local elections postponed in three English counties". BBC News. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
10. "Cumbria councils to be replaced by two authorities". BBC News. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
11. "Cumbria County Council launches legal action over shake-up". BBC News. October 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
12. "Bid to stop local government reorganisation lands county council with £30,000 bill". Cumbria Crack. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
13. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
14. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
15. "Names for two controversial Cumbria councils revealed". BBC News. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
16. "Cumberland election result". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
17. "Results of the Cumberland Council elections | Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council". www.cumberland.gov.uk.
18. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022: Article 28: Lords-Lieutenant".
19. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022: Article 29: Sheriffs".
20. Milligan, Laura (4 April 2023). "PCC officially takes on responsibility for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service's governance". Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
21. "High Sheriff".
22. Jovchev, Stanimir. "Побратимени градове". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
23. "Associated British Ports | Silloth". www.abports.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
24. "Carr's Carlisle". Carr's. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
25. "Pirelli Carlisle". Pirelli. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
26. "Stobart Carlisle". Stobart. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
27. "Nestlé Carlisle". ukbusinesspark. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
28. "First minister 'disappointed' by EWM move". BBC News. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
29. "Sellafield". Sellafield. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.