Cumbria Combined Authority (CCA), the UK’s smallest, represents an area in the far Northwest of England with a population of just more than half a million people. Its creation on 24 February 2026 marks the latest twist in a long saga of national government trying to bend local government to its will.
Just two years ago, Cumbria County Council was instructed to split into its two original component parts. But now, at the same time as Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Councils are being forced to cut services and impose maximum rate rises due to government grant reduction, the government is throwing millions of pounds at this new combined authority. The authority’s first act was to confirm the appointment of a new chief executive on a salary of more than £138,000 a year, and three other members of staff.
The history of Cumbria’s back-and-forth local government structure
For centuries this sparsely populated corner of England, which includes the Lake District, was happily managed by Cumberland and Westmorland single-tier councils.
Then, in an ill-conceived local government reorganisation in 1974, under the Tory government led by Sir Edward Heath, they were replaced by Cumbria County Council and six district councils, all seven of which had their own chief executives and management teams.
This two-tier system, with its confusion among the public of who did what, not surprisingly fell out of favour. The Conservative government thus did its first U-turn fifty years on, ordering local government to come up with a single tier system. After several years of consultation and in-fighting, the government sanctioned the abolition of the districts and the creation of Cumberland, including Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Keswick, and Westmorland & Furness, including Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Penrith and the Pennine town of Alston.
They were based on the historic two counties but did not match them exactly. Penrith and Alston switched from Cumberland to Westmorland & Furness. And the latter also acquired the Furness peninsula from the old Lancashire North of the Sands.
Cumbria Combined Authority sets out its plans
But then mayors became the rage, both under the Conservatives and the Labour governments. They deemed the newly created authorities were too small to each have a mayor, hence the creation of a Cumbria Combined Authority (CAA) by statutory instrument.
The CCA was quick to put out a statement saying that, in a new partnership with Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council, it would focus on practical improvements for people, including better transport, more jobs and skills opportunities, and long-term investment in Cumbria’s towns, villages and local economy.
The first official meeting of the new authority took place at Redhills, Penrith on 18 March, when members began setting out the early priorities and key decisions for the months ahead. For its first year, the combined authority will be jointly led by the leaders of the two constituent councils. This arrangement will remain in place until May 2027, when Cumbria will elect its first mayor.
For the first seven months, the chairman will be Mark Fryer, the leader of Cumberland Council, who described the creation of the authority as an “important milestone.” He was particularly keen to promote the new authority’s ability to help young people through high-quality education, top quality jobs, and further education enabling them to “exercise their ambition.”
Vice chair Jonathan Brook was equally upbeat, saying the authority was due to deliver better transport and connectivity as well as more jobs and skills training.
Local government with financial potential
So, why all the enthusiasm? As always, the answer is to follow the money. The new combined authority will unlock at least £333mn in additional long-term investment over the next 30 years, as well as new devolved powers from national government. These funds and powers are only available through a devolution deal, which requires both a combined authority and a directly elected mayor. Without devolution, Cumbria would not have access to this scale of investment or these powers.
A shadow board consisting of the leaders of the two constituent councils had already announced its preferred chief executive is John Barradell OBE, on an advertised salary of £138,960 to £155,382 for a 37-hour week. The post lasts for 18 months.
The appointment of Baradell, the former chief executive of the City of London Corporation and Brighton & Hove City Council, was confirmed at the meeting. He has also led major national resilience efforts, including the government’s Grenfell Recovery Taskforce and the London Strategic Group during Covid-19. He currently chairs the National Emergencies Trust and serves as a commissioner on the National Preparedness Commission. He and his family live in Carlisle, which no doubt helped.
Cumbria Combined Authority’s financial problems
While the government is pouring money into the new combined authority, it is also taking cash away from the two constituent councils. Westmorland and Furness Council agreed to a 4.99% council tax increase, alongside a new annual charge of £60 per bin for garden waste collections, an increase of around 10% car park charges, increases in the charges for the use of Windermere Ferry and removal of the ‘Blue Badge’ exemption.
Councillor Andrew Jarvis, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, and also on the board of the new combined authority, said: “Our council has suffered grievously in the government’s funding settlement.
“Given the scale and loss of funding from government, which is circa £43mn over the next three years, we have had no choice but to recommend the implementation of increased council tax and charges that will sadly affect every resident in the Westmorland and Furness area.”
Cumbria’s councils face budget issues
Cumberland says its budget agreement comes against a backdrop of many years of cuts to government grants for local councils, which has meant savings and an ever-greater reliance on council tax to fund services for local people. Currently, 50% of the day-to-day spending by the council is funded by council tax. By 2029/30 this is predicted to rise to 59%, after a 9.4% or £16.5mn drop in government funding. As a result, the budget includes some £32mn in savings and increases in income in the next financial year. These come on top of some £55mn already saved in the previous three financial years.
The budget also includes a rise of 2.99% in the core council tax element of the bill for Cumberland Council services and a 2% rise in the Adult Social Care precept. Overall, this 4.99% increase will mean a rise to a Band D council tax bill of £1.83 a week for Cumberland Council’s services. As most properties are rated in bands A to C, the rise for most residents will be lower; for band A properties, it will be £1.22 a week.
Separately, both the fire and police charges to ratepayers will be going up. Responsibility for police and fire brigades are expected to transfer to the new mayor, as current Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner roles are being scrapped.
Cumbria’s current PCFC Dave Allen has already been declared as the Labour candidate for the mayoral role. Conservatives have selected former Whitehaven Mayor Mike Starkey and Libby Bateman has been chosen by the Liberal Democrats.
A mayor will be appointed after elections in May 2027. That is assuming central government doesn’t decide to change local government systems again in the meantime.
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
