Local Government Boundary Commission – Cumberland

Today is the start of a public consultation inviting proposals for new council wards and ward boundaries for Cumberland Council.

Our consultation will close on 24 February 2025.

After we have considered all representations made to us during this consultation, we intend to publish draft recommendations in July 2025.

We will then hold a further period of consultation on our draft recommendations. Our final recommendations are expected to be published in February 2026.

The new electoral arrangements will come into effect at the local elections in 2027.

What is an electoral review?

Our electoral review will recommend new electoral arrangements for Cumberland Council. We will propose:

• the total number of councillors elected to the council in the future;
• the number of wards;
• the number of councillors representing each ward;
• ward boundaries; and
• the names of wards.

How to get involved

This is a public consultation and we welcome views from individuals and organisations across Cumberland on where they think new ward boundaries should be drawn.

We are minded to recommend that 55 councillors should be elected to Cumberland Council in the future.

This is 9 more than the current number of councillors.

We are now inviting proposals to help us draw up a pattern of wards to accommodate 55 councillors.

In drawing up new electoral wards, we must balance three legal criteria, namely:

• to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the authority;
• that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
• that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

We will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral ward, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.