Allerdale is a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non- ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

, England, with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census. The Borough of Allerdale was formed under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

of Workington, the urban districts of Maryport, Cockermouth and Keswick; and the rural districts of Cockermouth and Wigton, all of which were within the administrative county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

. In 1995 Allerdale was granted

. The name derives from the ancient region of Allerdale, represented latterly by the two wards of

, called Allerdale-above-Derwent and Allerdale-below-Derwent, the present borough corresponding largely to the latter with parts of the former. Much of the area during the medieval period was a royal forest subject to forest law. In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, Cumbria will be reorganised into two unitary authorities. Allerdale Borough Council is to be abolished and its functions transferred to a new authority, to be known as

, which will cover the current districts of Allerdale,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

, and Copeland.

Settlements

Workington is the largest settlement in the borough, and is the seat of the borough council. Allerdale House in Workington is the meeting place and primary office space used by the council. The building is known locally as "Perry's Palace" after former council chief executive Tony Perry, who was responsible for its construction. Other settlements in the borough include:

Abbeytown Abbeytown, also known as Holme Abbey, is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The name Abbeytown dates to the mid-17th century (''The Towne of the Abbey'', ''Abbey Towne''; ''Abbeytown'' from mid-18th century ...

, Allonby,

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of ...

Bolton Low Houses Bolton Low Houses is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland, it is located by road to the southwest of South End. There is a coal mining area to the east between Oughterside, Allhallow ...

, Bothel, Brigham, Broughton, Great Clifton, Cockermouth, Crosby, Dean, Dearham,

Fletchertown Fletchertown is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It was historically within Cumberland. The village was originally built to house workers in a nearby coal mine, since abandoned. The site of the mine and its spoil h ...

, Flimby, Ireby, Keswick, Kirkbride, Maryport, Mawbray,

Plumbland Plumbland is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale district in the county of Cumbria, England. Situated towards the north west corner of the county, it is two miles from the outskirts of the Lake District National Park which is consider ...

, Seaton, Silloth, Tallentire, Thursby, Waverton, Westnewton, and Wigton.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Allerdale.

Individuals

* Malcolm Wilson: 28 March 2018. * Ben Stokes: 25 September 2019.

Politics

Elections to the borough council are held every four years with 49

councillors A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

being elected from 23 wards. No party has had a majority on the council since Labour lost their majority at the 2003 election. As of the 2019 election, the council is jointly administered by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and independents. Since March 2021 the

leader of the council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

has been Mark Johnson, a Conservative.

Derwent 7 parishes

The Derwent 7 Community Led Planning Group was set up in 2007 by the town and parish councils of Above Derwent,

Bassenthwaite Bassenthwaite is a village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, within the Lake District National Park, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 412, increasing to 481 ...

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

, Keswick, St John's, Castlerigg and Wythburn,

Threlkeld Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the nort ...

and Underskiddaw, with funding from Allerdale Borough Council, and was still in existence in 2017. It had four subgroups including one on transport, and a co-ordinating "Cluster group".
The term "Derwent Seven Parishes" is used in defining the collecting scope of

Keswick Museum Keswick Museum is a local museum based in Keswick in the English Lake District, which exhibits aspects of the landscape, history and culture of the area. History The collection was established as the Keswick Museum of Local and Natural History, ...

, as Keswick is at the heart of the area covered by these parishes. A map illustrating the area of the parishes is included in an appendix to a document produced by Sustainable Keswick.

Map

References

{{authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Cumbria English royal forests 1974 establishments in England Boroughs in England