Elections cancelled in Cumbria as people asked for views on new councils

Local elections have been cancelled until 2021 in Cumbria.

Planned local elections in Cumbria this May have been cancelled and will now take place next year.

This has been announced after the Government announced that it was seeking views on how councils in the county should be reorganised.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced that it has received four proposals to replace the current setup of one county council - responsible for issues like adult social care, education and road maintenance - and six district councils, which handles issues like rubbish collection, planning and environmental health.

Instead, Cumbria would have one or two unitary authorities, which would take responsibility for all aspects of council work.

These four proposals are:

  • one single council for the whole county, proposed by Cumbria County Council

  • two councils - one for The Bay (Barrow, Lancaster and South Lakeland) and one for North Cumbria (Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland and Eden), proposed by Barrow Borough Council and South Lakeland District Council

  • two councils - one for North Cumbria (Allerdale, Carlisle and Eden) and one for South Cumbria (Barrow, Copeland and South Lakeland), proposed by Carlisle City Council and Eden District Council

  • two councils - one for West Cumbria (Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland) and one for East Cumbria (Barrow, Eden, South Lakeland), proposed by Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council.

A similar process is also taking place in North Yorkshire and Somerset.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

The consultation runs until Monday, April 19; to take part, click here.