Functions
Cumbria County Council was responsible for the more strategic local services of the county, including education (schools, both primary and secondary), libraries and youth services, social services, highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, consumer protection, and town and country planning for minerals matters, waste and for highways. This made it a substantial employer.
The former Cumberland County Council's final major road scheme, an A66 bypass for Keswick, was prepared by Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick, consulting engineers, in 1972, [2] and construction began in the summer of 1974, with the new authority completing the scheme. [3]
The Council operated various recycling and waste disposal facilities across the area. In January 2012, the Council announced plans to close six of these centres. The six sites identified by the review as most suitable for closure are at Ambleside, Brampton, Grange-over-Sands, Kirkby Stephen, Millom and Wigton. [4]
The administrative offices were at Cumbria House in Botchergate, Carlisle, and formal meetings of the Council were held at the County Offices in Kendal. [5]
History
Control of the council swung back and forth. In its first four years (1973–1977) there was no overall control, but in 1977 the Conservatives gained a majority. In 1981, this became a majority for Labour, and from 1985 there was again no one-party control. In 1997, Labour again took control, but they lost it in 2001. In the final years of its existence there again was no party with a majority.
A proposal for Cumbria to become a unitary authority was made in 2007, [6] and Cumbria went into consultation, with opposition coming from the district councils which would be abolished: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden, and South Lakeland. [7] In the event, the county was left out of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. [8]
In 2008, the county council rejected a proposal to introduce a directly elected mayor, opting instead for a cabinet-style administration that resembled the status quo. [9] During the same year, an administration of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats collapsed, suffering not least from lacking a majority in the council. Thirty-nine Labour members and three Independents exactly equalled the total of thirty-two Conservatives and ten Liberal Democrats. A minority Labour administration then took over running the council until the June 2009 elections, when a net gain of one seat from the Independents led to the creation of a new Conservative and Labour coalition. [10]
In 2020 the council approved Whitehaven coal mine for a third time. It will be the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years. The approval was widely criticised for its environmental damage and carbon emissions. Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron described the coal mine as a "complete disaster for our children's future". [11] [12] [13]
In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the county would be reorganised into two unitary authorities. Cumbria County Council was to be abolished and its functions transferred to the new authorities. [14] An eastern authority, known as Westmorland and Furness Council, now covers the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland, [15] and a new western authority, known as Cumberland Council, covers the former districts of Allerdale, Carlisle, and Copeland. [15]
Elections
The first elections to the authority were in 1973, and members were elected every four years for a four-year term of office, with elections being held all together on the "first past the post" system.
Since boundary changes in 2001 until the council's abolition, 84 councillors were elected from 84 single-member electoral divisions. [16]
At the June 2009 elections, the outcome was 38 Conservatives members, 24 Labour, 16 Liberal Democrats and six Independents. A Labour-Conservative coalition was formed.
Following the May 2013 elections the outcome was 35 Labour members, 26 Conservative, 16 Liberal Democrats and 7 Independents. A Labour-Lib Dem coalition was formed. [17] Following the May 2017 elections, the outcome was 37 Conservative, 26 Labour, 16 Liberal Democrats and 5 Independents, resulting in a Labour-Lib Dem coalition with support from Independent members. [18]
The 2021 election was postponed on 10 April 2021. [19] In view of the council's abolition there was no election to the council in 2022. [20]
Cumbria is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.
Westmorland is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. Between 1974 and 2023 Westmorland lay within the administrative county of Cumbria. In April 2023, Cumbria County Council was abolished and replaced with two unitary authorities, one of which, Westmorland and Furness, covers all of Westmorland, thereby restoring the Westmorland name to a top-tier administrative entity. The people of Westmorland are known as Westmerians.
Cumberland is a historic county in North West England, covering part of the Lake District as well as the northern Pennines and the coast of Solway Firth. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974, when it was subsumed into Cumbria, a larger administrative area which also covered Westmorland and parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. In April 2023, Cumberland was revived as an administrative entity when Cumbria County Council was abolished and replaced by two unitary authorities, one of which is named Cumberland and includes most of the historic county, with the exception of Penrith and the surrounding area.
The Borough of Copeland was a local government district with borough status in western Cumbria, England. Its council was based in Whitehaven. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural District and Millom Rural District. The population of the Non-Metropolitan district was 69,318 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 70,603 at the 2011 Census.
Maryport is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England.
The City of Carlisle was a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city. It was named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covered a far larger area which included the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages including Dalston, Scotby and Wetheral. In 2011 the district had a population of 107,524, and an area of 1,039.97 square kilometres (402 sq mi).
Hesket is a large civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, on the main A6 between Carlisle and Penrith. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,363, increasing to 2,588 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 2,774 in 2019. The parish was formed in 1894 with the passing of the Local Government Act 1894 and was enlarged to incorporate the parish of Plumpton Wall following a County Review Order in 1934. Hesket is part of the historic royal hunting ground of Inglewood Forest. Settlement in the parish dates back to the Roman occupation.
The 2001 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 7 June 2001. Elections took place for all of the English shire counties, some English unitary authorities and all of the Northern Ireland districts. The elections were delayed from the usual date of the first Thursday in May due to the 2001 foot and mouth crisis and were held on the same day as the 2001 general election.
An election to Cumbria County Council took place on 2 May 2009 as part of the 2009 United Kingdom local elections. All 84 councillors were elected from various electoral divisions, which returned one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. They coincided with an election for the European Parliament. All 84 seats in the Council were up for election, and a total of 301 candidates stood. The total number of people registered to vote was 392,931. Prior to the election local Conservatives were leading a coalition with the Liberal Democrats with the Labour party as the council's official opposition.
Cumberland County Council was the county council of Cumberland in the North West of England, an elected local government body responsible for most local services in the county. It was established in 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888. Carlisle was initially within its area but became a separate county borough in 1914. In 1974, both authorities were merged along with parts of others into the new Cumbria County Council. In April 2023 local government in Cumbria was reorganised into two unitary authorities, one of which is named Cumberland Council and includes most of the historic county, with the exception of Penrith and the surrounding area.
The 2010 Carlisle City Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Carlisle District Council in Cumbria, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland in England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Although legally the council is a district council as set out in the change order that created it. The area has no county council. It was first elected in May 2022 and operated as a shadow authority until taking up its powers on 1 April 2023. Cumberland Council replaced Cumbria County Council, Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council and Copeland Borough Council.
Structural changes to local government in England took place between 2019 and 2023. Some of these changes continue the trend of new unitary authorities being created from other types of local government districts, which was a policy of Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick from 2019.
The County Offices, also known as County Hall, is a municipal building in Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria, England. The structure, which was the headquarters of Westmorland County Council from 1939 to 1974, is a Grade II listed building. The building serves as the meeting place of Westmorland and Furness Council.
The 2022 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2022. These included elections for all London borough councils, for all local authorities in Wales and Scotland. Most seats in England were last up for election in 2018 and in Scotland and Wales in 2017. The elections coincided with the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. In 91 cases, most of them in Wales, council seats were uncontested, each having only one candidate. Three seats in Scotland remained unfilled as no one nominated to fill them.
Cumberland is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England, 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.
Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England, which means that is a non-metropolitan county and district. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the port in Barrow-in-Furness, and agriculture in the rural parts of the area.
The 2022 Westmorland and Furness Council election was held on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Westmorland and Furness Council in England. The council area will consist of the area covered by the districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland.
Westmorland and Furness Council is the local authority for Westmorland and Furness in the north-west of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined although the council is legally a distrcit council and the area has no county council as set out in the change order. Westmorland and Furness Council was first elected in May 2022, operating as a shadow authority until it replaced Cumbria County Council, Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council, Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council on 1 April 2023.
