Cumberland Council
{{short description|Local authority of Cumberland, England}}
{{other uses|Cumberland County Council (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Cumberland Council
| legislature =
| coa_pic =
| coa_caption =
| coa_res =
| coa_alt =
| logo_pic = Cumberland Council logo.svg
| logo_caption = Council logo
| logo_res = 250
| logo_alt =
| motto =
| foundation = 1 April 2023
| house_type = Unitary authority
| new_session =
| leader1_type = Chair
| leader1 = Andrew Semple
| party1 =
Labour
| leader2_type = Leader
| leader2 = Mark Fryer
| party2 =
Labour
| leader3_type = Chief Executive
| leader3 = Andrew Seekings
| party3 =
| election3 = 31 December 2022{{cite web |title=New Chief Executive for Cumberland Council |url=https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/news/2022/new-chief-executive-cumberland-council |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=3 May 2024}}
| structure1 = Cumberland Council 2023 05 April.svg
| structure1_res = 250
| structure1_alt = Cumberland Council composition
| seats = 46 councillors
| committees1 =
| joint_committees =
| political_groups1 =
;Administration (29)
:{{Color box|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Labour (29)
;Other parties (17)
:{{Color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Conservative (8)
:{{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Liberal Democrats (4)}}
:{{Color box|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|border=darkgray}} Independent (3)
:{{Color box|{{party color|Green Party of England and Wales}}|border=darkgray}} Green (2)
| term_length = 4 years (from 2027)
| voting_system1 = First past the post
| last_election1 = 5 May 2022
| next_election1 = 6 May 2027
| session_room = Carlisle Council Offices.jpg
| meeting_place = Civic Centre, Rickergate, Carlisle, CA3{{nbsp}}8QG{{Cite web |date=17 May 2022 |title=Agenda for meeting to be held at Cathedral Room, Civic Centre, Carlisle |url=https://cumberland.moderngov.co.uk/documents/g104/Agenda%20frontsheet%2017th-May-2022%2010.30%20Shadow%20Authority%20for%20Cumberland%20Council.pdf?T=0 |access-date=10 May 2022 |publisher=Shadow Authority for Cumberland Council}}{{Cite web |date=12 May 2022 |title=New Cumbria councils to hold inaugural meetings - cumbriacrack.com |url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/05/12/new-cumbria-councils-to-hold-inaugural-meetings/}}
| website = {{url|www.cumberland.gov.uk}}
| footnotes =
}}
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.
History
The 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.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022|year=2022|number=331|access-date=24 January 2024}} For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Cumberland remains part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Lieutenancies Act 1997|year=1997|chapter=23|schedule=1|access-date=7 May 2024}}
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.{{cite web |title=1971 Census of England and Wales, County Report Part 1 |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/census/table/EW1971COU1_M3?u_id=10134810&show=DB&min_c=1&max_c=6 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=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. 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,{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=1 July 2024}} which became part of Westmorland and Furness in the 2023 reforms.
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
Cumberland 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.{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=1 July 2024}}{{cite web |title=Charter Trustees of the City of Carlisle |url=https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/your-council/charter-trustees-city-carlisle |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=1 July 2024}}
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.{{cite web |title=Members |url=https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/aboutus/members |website=Lake District National Park |access-date=1 July 2024}}
=Political control=
The council has been under Labour majority control since its creation.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2022/england/councils/E07000247|title=Cumberland election result - Local Elections 2022|access-date=15 June 2022|work=BBC News}}
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2"|Party in control !! Years | |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 2023–present |
=Leadership=
The leader of the council since its creation has been Mark Fryer, a former leader of Allerdale Borough Council.{{cite news |title=Cumberland shadow authority leader Mark Fryer gives exclusive interview |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/20150786.cumberland-shadow-authority-leader-mark-fryer-gives-exclusive-interview/ |access-date=15 June 2022 |work=News and Star |date=21 May 2022}}{{cite web |title=Shadow Council minutes, 17 May 2022 |url=https://cumberland.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=104 |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=15 June 2022}}
| class=wikitable
! Councillor !! colspan=2|Party !! From !! To | |||
| Mark Fryer | {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | align=right|1 Apr 2023 |
=Composition=
Following 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:{{cite news |last1=Dempsey |first1=Bridget |title=Upperby councillor joins Lib Dems after quitting Labour |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23357634.upperby-councillor-joins-lib-dems--says-wont-by-election/ |access-date=3 May 2024 |work=News and Star |date=3 March 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Rawlinson |first1=Ollie |title=Cumberland councillor Trevor Allison leaves Lib Dems for Conservatives |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23561474.cumberland-councillor-trevor-allison-leaves-lib-dems-conservatives/?ref=rss |access-date=3 May 2024 |work=News and Star |date=2 June 2023}}
| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2| Party ! Councillors | |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | align=center|29 |
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | align=center|8 |
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Democrats (UK)}} | align=center|4 |
| {{Party name with colour|Independent politician}} | align=center|3 |
| {{Party name with colour|Green Party of England and Wales}} | align=center|2 |
| colspan=2|Total
! align=center|46 |
|---|
The three independent councillors sit together as a group.{{cite web |title=Your councillors by party |url=https://cumberland.moderngov.co.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=PARTY&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=3 May 2024}} The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
{{also|Cumberland Council elections}}
The 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.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cumbria (Electoral Changes) Order 2012|year=2012|number=3113|access-date=1 July 2024}}
Premises
File:Cumbria County Councils new HQ (geograph 5290723).jpg
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.{{cite news |title=HQ decided for new Cumberland Council |url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/09/21/hq-decided-for-new-cumberland-council/ |access-date=3 May 2024 |work=Cumbria Crack |date=21 September 2022}}{{cite web |title=Calendar |url=https://cumberland.moderngov.co.uk/mgCalendarAgendaView.aspx?XXR=0&M=4&DD=2023&ACT=Go&WN=18 |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=3 May 2024}}
Branding
The council logo was approved at a meeting of the shadow executive on 20 July 2022.{{Cite web |date=20 July 2022 |title=Agenda for Shadow Executive on Wednesday, 20th July, 2022, 5.00 pm |url=https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/moderngov-template |website=www.cumberland.gov.uk}}{{Cite web |date=21 July 2022 |title=New logo for Cumberland Council agreed - cumbriacrack.com |url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/07/21/new-logo-for-cumberland-council-agreed/}} The logo draws on symbols found on the flag and coat of arms of the historic county of Cumberland.{{Cite web |date=22 July 2022 |title=New logo for Cumberland Council agreed |url=https://www.itv.com/news/border/2022-07-22/new-logo-for-cumberland-council-agreed |website=ITV News}} 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.{{Cite web |date=20 July 2022 |title=Agenda |url=https://cumberland.moderngov.co.uk/documents/g149/Public%20reports%20pack%2020th-Jul-2022%2017.00%20Shadow%20Executive.pdf?T=10 |access-date=26 July 2022 |publisher=Cumberland Council}} The council's flag consists of the emblem, without the text, on a white background.{{Cite web |title=Cumberland Council |url=https://twitter.com/CumberlandCoun}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/ Cumberland Council]
- [https://twitter.com/cumberlandcoun Cumberland Council on Twitter]
- [https://carlisle.cmis.uk.com/Committees/CurrentCommittees/tabid/157/ctl/ViewCMIS_CommitteeDetails/mid/627/id/885/Default.aspx Cumberland Joint Committee]
- [https://newcouncilsforcumbria.info/default.asp Two New Councils for Cumbria]
{{Cumbria}}
{{Unitary authorities of England}}
Category:Local education authorities in England
Category:Local authorities in Cumbria