The district of Westmorland and Furness and its council were created in 2023. The district covers the combined area of the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland. The new council took over the functions of the three former district councils plus those of the abolished Cumbria County Council within the area. Legally, Westmorland and Furness is both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but there is no separate county council; instead the district council also performs the functions of a county council, making it a unitary authority.[5] For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Westmorland and Furness remains part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria.[6]
The inaugural election to the new council was held on 5 May 2022. It initially operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until 1 April 2023, when the new district and its council formally came into being.[5]
Governance
Westmorland and Furness Council provides both district-level and county-level services. The whole area is also covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government.[7]
Much of the west of the district lies within the Lake District National Park, and south-eastern parts of the district lie within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. In those areas, town planning is the responsibility of the national park authorities. Westmorland and Furness Council appoints six of its councillors to serve on the 20-person Lake District National Park Authority,[8] and three of its councillors to serve on the 25-person Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.[9]
Political control
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since its creation.[10]
Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The first leader is Jonathan Brook, a Liberal Democrat, who was also the last leader of South Lakeland District Council.[11][12]
The council comprises 65 councillors representing 33 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are to be held every four years from 2027.[5]
The council has its official headquarters at Kendal Town Hall and the adjoining South Lakeland House at the junction of Stricklandgate and Lowther Street in the centre of Kendal. Other headquarters buildings are at Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall and Voreda House in Penrith.[16][17]
Full council meetings were initially held at County Hall in Kendal, the former headquarters of Westmorland County Council, which had been built in 1939.[18][19] In June 2024 the council decided to close County Hall in September 2024 and move meetings to Kendal Town Hall.[20]
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