A bid to move Penrith out of the clutches of Westmorland and Furness and into the new Cumberland Council’s fold fell at the first hurdle.
Dubbed ‘Pexit’ by a speaker at a recent meeting of Penrith Town Council. the unusual motion was seen as an attempt to re-establish the area’s historical links with the former county of Cumberland in the wake of local government reorganisation, which will see Cumbria being split into two new unitary authorities.
Penrith area resident Kimberley Lawson, speaking as a member of the public, told the meeting: “I understand that being from somewhere matters. Having lived here for several years now, I recognise that many people in Penrith feel they are from Cumberland. I can understand why the motion before the town council tonight might appeal on an emotional level to people born and bred right here.”
However, she said the “sad reality” was that the historic county of Cumberland was erased half a century ago.
“Assuming that Penrith Town Council has any real say in this, which seems unlikely, attempts now to make further changes would serve no useful purpose.
“Vesting day (for the new unitary authorities) is in three weeks. That ship has sailed,” she said.
“Why start to suggest that an alternative configuration be looked at now? The lengthy consultation was the time for that campaigning. A shadow authority has been in place for 12 months looking at every aspect of Eden’s council business and similar has been done with the county council. Huge amounts of officer time and taxpayer money have gone into the handover.
“If we were to attempt to switch now to Cumberland, all that work, all that public money, would be wasted.
“So, as much as this motion might tug on the heartstrings, a few moments consideration and half an ounce of common sense tells us that this is not something we can have at the moment and I would urge councillors not to vote for ‘Pexit’ this evening.”
Councillor Margaret Clark, who was one of those calling for the change to Cumberland, said she believed in local democracy and wanted to see the subject being opened up to local debate. “It is my experience that services in South Lakes and Barrow are not on a par with those offered in North Cumbria,” she said.
“There would be overwhelming local support for linking Penrith back to Carlisle,” added Ms Clark. A motion put before the meeting, which was voted down, called for the town council to make a request for Westmorland and Furness Council to conduct a community governance review to change the upper tier authority for the parish of Penrith to Cumberland Council.
Penrith mayor Charlie Shepherd, who abstained from the vote, said: “I have to let my head rule my heart. My heart is totally Cumberland. My heart says this is great, if somehow it could be made to work, but my head says I can’t see how it can.”
Deputy mayor Dave Knaggs said: “It isn’t the county of Cumberland, it is an administrative local government region. We still have the county of Cumbria, so it is not like going back to pre-1974.”
After the meeting, a spokeswoman for Penrith Town Council said: “We look forward to working with both authorities when they are constituted on 1st April. It is unfair to pre-judge how effective either new authority will be.
“Penrith Town Council will always have the best interests of the community at heart. We understand Penrith has historically been part of the county of Cumberland. We will continue to be a part of Cumbria from 1st April.
“Our local government administration, however, will change from Cumbria County Council to Westmorland and Furness Council.
“While we appreciate the attachment some people feel to Cumberland, it would not be a good use of council time, energy, or money to try and overturn a statutory decision of the UK Government. Our focus is on making Penrith a great place to live right now and we think that’s what people expect of us.”
