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.
Cumberland Council | |
|---|---|
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Andrew Seekings since 31 December 2022[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 46 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years (from 2027) |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Civic Centre, Rickergate, Carlisle, CA3 8QG[4][5] | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
editThe modern district of Cumberland and its council were created in 2023. The district covers the combined area of the former districts of Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland. The new council also took on the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area. Legally, Cumberland is both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but there is no separate county council; instead the district council also performs county council functions, making it a unitary authority.[6] For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Cumberland remains part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria.[7]
The district takes its name from the historic county of Cumberland, and covers about 77% of the area of the old county as it was prior to the 1974 reforms which had created the new county of Cumbria.[8] In the 1974 reforms, Penrith, the Penrith Rural District and the Alston with Garrigill Rural District from Cumberland had been included in the Eden District,[9] which became part of Westmorland and Furness in the 2023 reforms.[6]
The inaugural election to the new council was held on 5 May 2022. It initially operated as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities until 1 April 2023, when the new district and its council formally came into being.
Governance
editCumberland Council provides both district-level and county-level functions. Most of its area is also covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas. The only exception is Carlisle, which is unparished; the Cumberland councillors for the city serve as charter trustees instead of it having a parish council.[10][11]
Much of the south of the district lies within the Lake District National Park. In that area, town planning is the responsibility of the Lake District National Park Authority. Cumberland Council appoints four of its councillors to serve on the 20-person National Park Authority.[12]
Political control
editThe council has been under Labour majority control since its creation.[13]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 2023–present | |
Leadership
editThe leader of the council since its creation has been Mark Fryer, a former leader of Allerdale Borough Council.[14][15]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Fryer | Labour | 1 Apr 2023 | ||
Composition
editFollowing the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance in March and June 2023 and a by-election in June 2024, the composition of the council was:[16][17]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 29 | |
| Conservative | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Green | 2 | |
| Total | 46 | |
The three independent councillors sit together as a group.[18] The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
editThe district is divided into 46 wards, each electing one councillor. Elections are to be held every four years from 2027. Cumberland's wards are the same as the former electoral divisions used for electing county councillors from the area to the old Cumbria County Council, which had last been reviewed in 2013.[6][19]
Premises
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The council inherited various offices from its predecessor authorities, including Allerdale House in Workington, the Copeland Centre in Whitehaven, and the Civic Centre and Cumbria House in Carlisle. Full council meetings are held at the Civic Centre, and Cumbria House is the council's official headquarters, with the other buildings being retained as local area offices.[20][21]
Branding
editThe council logo was approved at a meeting of the shadow executive on 20 July 2022.[22][23] The logo draws on symbols found on the flag and coat of arms of the historic county of Cumberland.[24] It features a Parnassus flower, the traditional county flower, wavy lines which represent the fells, mountains, lakes and coast of the council area and the colours blue and green, which are the livery colours of the traditional county.[25] The council's flag consists of the emblem, without the text, on a white background.[26]
References
edit- ^ Mawson, Brandon (16 May 2024). "Cumberland Council's Annual Council held in Carlisle". News and Star. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Inaugural meeting of the Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council". Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "New Chief Executive for Cumberland Council". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Agenda for meeting to be held at Cathedral Room, Civic Centre, Carlisle" (PDF). Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "New Cumbria councils to hold inaugural meetings - cumbriacrack.com". 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/331, retrieved 24 January 2024
- ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23 (sch. 1), retrieved 7 May 2024
- ^ "1971 Census of England and Wales, County Report Part 1". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 1 July 2024. Total area of geographical county of Cumberland in 1971 (including county borough of Carlisle) = 393,823 hectares. Combined area of three pre-1974 districts not included in Cumberland as re-created 2023 (being Alston with Garrigill Rural District, Penrith Rural District and Penrith Urban District) = 91,438 hectares.
- ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 1 July 2024
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Charter Trustees of the City of Carlisle". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Members". Lake District National Park. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Cumberland election result - Local Elections 2022". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Cumberland shadow authority leader Mark Fryer gives exclusive interview". News and Star. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Shadow Council minutes, 17 May 2022". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Dempsey, Bridget (3 March 2023). "Upperby councillor joins Lib Dems after quitting Labour". News and Star. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Rawlinson, Ollie (2 June 2023). "Cumberland councillor Trevor Allison leaves Lib Dems for Conservatives". News and Star. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Your councillors by party". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "The Cumbria (Electoral Changes) Order 2012", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2012/3113, retrieved 1 July 2024
- ^ "HQ decided for new Cumberland Council". Cumbria Crack. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Calendar". Cumberland Council. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Agenda for Shadow Executive on Wednesday, 20th July, 2022, 5.00 pm". www.cumberland.gov.uk. 20 July 2022.
- ^ "New logo for Cumberland Council agreed - cumbriacrack.com". 21 July 2022.
- ^ "New logo for Cumberland Council agreed". ITV News. 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Agenda" (PDF). Cumberland Council. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Cumberland Council".