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, which is also its county town.
Westmorland is an area of Northern England which was historically a county and is now fully part of Cumbria. People of the area are known as Westmerians. The area includes part of the Lake District and the southern Vale of Eden.
Cumberland is an area of Northern England which was historically a county and is now fully part of Cumbria. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle, part of the Lake District and North Pennines, and the Solway Firth coastline.
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 the Cumberland district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 11,262.
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).
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the administrative counties of Cumberland and Westmorland were abolished, and were combined with parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire to form the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria.
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.
Dearham is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, near the Lake District National Park in England. It lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Maryport and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Cockermouth.
Cumbria Archive Service was established to serve the English county of Cumbria. Rather than having just one county record office, Cumbria County Council operated four local record offices, now known as archive centres, in Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal and Whitehaven.
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.
Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council has been under Labour majority control since its creation 2023. Full council meetings are usually held at Carlisle Civic Centre and the main offices are at Cumbria House in Carlisle.
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, but is due to close in September 2024.
The 2022 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2022. These included elections for all London borough councils, and 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 it 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. 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, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since its creation in 2023. It has its official headquarters at the Town Hall and adjoining South Lakeland House in Kendal, with additional offices in Barrow-in-Furness and Penrith.
