Westmorland and Furness Council | |
|---|---|
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Sam Plum since 31 December 2022[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 65 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Town Hall,Kendal | |
| Website | |
www | |
Westmorland and Furness Council is thelocal authority forWestmorland and Furness, a local government district in theceremonial county ofCumbria, England. It is aunitary authority, being adistrict council which also performs the functions of acounty council. The council has been underLiberal Democrat majority control since its creation in 2023. It has its official headquarters at theTown Hall and adjoining South Lakeland House inKendal, with additional offices inBarrow-in-Furness andPenrith.
The district of Westmorland and Furness and its council were created in 2023. The district covers the combined area of the former districts ofBarrow-in-Furness,Eden andSouth Lakeland. The new council took over the functions of the three former district councils plus those of the abolishedCumbria County Council within the area. Legally, Westmorland and Furness is both anon-metropolitan district and anon-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.[4] For the purposes oflieutenancy andshrievalty, Westmorland and Furness remains part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria.[5]
Theinaugural 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.[4]
Westmorland and Furness Council provides both district-level and county-level services. The whole area is also covered bycivil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government.[6]
Much of the west of the district lies within theLake District National Park, and south-eastern parts of the district lie within theYorkshire Dales National Park. In those areas,town and country 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,[7] and three of its councillors to serve on the 25-person Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.[8]
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since its creation.[9]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 2023–present | |
Political leadership is provided by theleader of the council. The first leader is Jonathan Brook, a Liberal Democrat, who was also the last leader of South Lakeland District Council.[10][11]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Brook[12] | Liberal Democrats | 1 Apr 2023 | ||
Following the 2022 election,[13][14] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:[15]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 36 | |
| Labour | 15 | |
| Conservative | 10 | |
| Green | 1 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Total | 65 | |
The three independent councillors sit in a group with the Green councillor. The next election is due in 2027.[15]
The council comprises 65councillors representing 33wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are to be held every four years from 2027.[4]
The council has its official headquarters atKendal Town Hall and the adjoining South Lakeland House at the junction of Highgate and Lowther Street in the centre ofKendal. Other buildings are atBarrow-in-Furness Town Hall and Voreda House inPenrith.[16][17]
Full council meetings were initially held atCounty Hall in Kendal, the former headquarters ofWestmorland 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]
