Cumberland (unitary authority)

Cumberland is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria,[5] England. It, along with Westmorland and Furness, took over one half of the administration of Cumbria in April 2023 following the abolition of Cumbria County Council. The council area consists of the areas covered by the former districts of Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland, which also ceased to function. The authority covers 77% of the area and 90% of the population of the historic county of Cumberland.

"Cumberland (district)" redirects here. For other districts named Cumberland, see Cumberland (disambiguation).
Cumberland
Unitary authority area
Official logo of Cumberland
Logo of Cumberland Council
Cumberland shown within Cumbria
Cumberland shown within Cumbria
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Ceremonial countyCumbria
Historic countyCumberland (part)
Founded1 April 2023
SeatCarlisle[1]
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority
 • BodyCumberland Council
 • ChairmanCarni McCarron-Holmes[2]
 • LeaderMark Fryer[3]
Area
 • Land1,164 sq mi (3,010 km2)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total274,622[4]
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Websitehttps://www.cumberland.gov.uk/

The authority sits within the ceremonial county of Cumbria, which no longer has any administrative function. [6][7]

The authority is named after the historic county of Cumberland, and covers broadly the same area except for the Penrith area which lies in neighbouring Westmorland and Furness. Cumberland was previously an administrative county until it was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 and absorbed into the new administrative county of Cumbria.

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] The judicial review was refused by the High Court in January 2022.[11] Draft statutory instruments to bring about local government reorganisation in Cumbria were subsequently laid before parliament.[7] The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022 (2022 No. 331)[12] was made on 17 March 2022 and came into force the following day.[13]

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.[14] Labour won a majority of 30 seats.[15] Conservatives have 7 seats, Liberal Democrats 4 seats, Independents 3 seats and Green Party 2 seats. Turnout was 36.1%.[16]

Cumberland, together with neighbouring Westmorland and Furness, continues to constitute a ceremonial county named "Cumbria" for the purpose of lieutenancy and shrievalties, being presided over by a Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria and a High Sheriff of Cumbria.[17][18]

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.[19]

High Sheriffs pay attention to the work of such statutory bodies as the Police, the Prison Service and the Probation Service.[20]

Settlements

The largest settlement in Cumberland is Carlisle, other settlements are as follows grouped by former district:

Former district Former administrative centre Other settlements
Allerdale
Workington		 Aspatria
Cockermouth
Harrington
Keswick
Maryport
Silloth
Wigton
Carlisle
Carlisle		 Brampton
Dalston
Longtown
Copeland
Whitehaven		 Arlecdon and Frizington
Cleator Moor
Egremont
Millom
St Bees

Twinnings
SettlementTwinned settlement
CarlisleGermany Flensburg, Germany
Poland Słupsk, Poland
CockermouthFrance Marvejols, France
WhitehavenBulgaria Kozloduy, Bulgaria[21]
WorkingtonGermany Selm, Germany
France Val-de-Reuil, France

See also

References
  1. Colley, Jacob (12 May 2022). "New Cumbria councils to hold inaugural meetings". Cumbria Crack. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  2. "Inaugural meeting of the Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council | Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council".
  3. "Inaugural meeting of the Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council | Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council".
  4. Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council (December 2020). "Cumbria Local Government Re-organisation Case for Change" (PDF).
  5. "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  6. "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.
  7. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
  8. "Local elections postponed in three English counties". BBC News. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  9. "Cumbria councils to be replaced by two authorities". BBC News. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  10. "Cumbria County Council launches legal action over shake-up". BBC News. October 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  11. "Bid to stop local government reorganisation lands county council with £30,000 bill". Cumbria Crack. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  12. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
  13. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
  14. "Names for two controversial Cumbria councils revealed". BBC News. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  15. "Cumberland election result". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  16. "Results of the Cumberland Council elections | Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council". www.cumberland.gov.uk.
  17. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022: Article 28: Lords-Lieutenant".
  18. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022: Article 29: Sheriffs".
  19. 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.
  20. "High Sheriff".
  21. Jovchev, Stanimir. "Побратимени градове". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2017.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.