Councillors are preparing for final meetings which will decide whether to establish a new Mayor-led authority for Cumbria.
The Government believes the introduction of a mayoral authority for Cumbria would improve people’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing. And, after considering the powers, responsibilities and potential funding that would be available to a new authority, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Councils now need to formally decide whether they both want to go ahead.
If they do, a Cumbria Combined Authority would become a legal body early in 2026, with leadership until mayoral elections in May 2027 coming from the two constituent authorities, Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils.
A new authority would have a range of powers, responsibilities and opportunities not available to individual local authorities and be in addition to Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Councils. This includes access to a multi-million pound,30-year investment fund.
Powers would include strategic, Cumbria-wide responsibilities on transport and local infrastructure; skills and employment support; housing and strategic planning; economic development and regeneration; environment and climate change; health, wellbeing and public service reform and public safety.
In Westmorland and Furness, the council’s Cabinet will meet on 29 September to discuss the issue and is expected to put forward a recommendation it is ‘minded to’ either give consent or withhold consent.
Cabinet’s recommendation will then be discussed by the council’s Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 30 September and a full council meeting on 9 October.
Feedback from those meetings will then be considered by Cabinet and a final decision to consent or not will be made at its meeting on 14 October.
Cumberland Council is set to make a decision on the same day. Both councils need to consent to setting up the combined authority.
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said:
“This is clearly a very significant decision and we have sought to gain as much information as possible from Government on how the mayoral authority would work, the additional powers and responsibilities the new authority could expect, and the funding available."
“Now, in weighing up their final decisions, members will be considering that information, evidence from other areas of the country that already have an elected mayor and feedback from the Government’s public consultation earlier this year.”
Papers for the 29 September Cabinet meeting setting out the risks of consenting, the risks of not consenting, and the strategic case for proceeding have now been published.
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