The Borough of Copeland was a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

status in western

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its council was based in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Borough of

, Ennerdale Rural District and Millom Rural District. The population of the Non-Metropolitan district was 69,318 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 70,603 at the 2011 Census. The name was derived from an alternative name for the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Allerdale above Derwent, which covered roughly the same area. There are different explanations for the name. According to a document issued at the time of the borough's grant of arms, the name is derived from ''kaupland'', meaning "bought land," referring to an area of the Forest bought from the estate of

St Bees Priory St Bees Priory is the parish church of St Bees, Cumbria, in England. There is evidence of a pre-Normans, Norman religious site, on which a Benedictine priory was founded by the first Norman Lord of Egremont William Meschin. It was dedicated by Ar ...

. In July 2021 the

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 ...

announced that in April 2023, Cumbria would be reorganised into two

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. On 1 April 2023, Copeland Borough Council was abolished and its functions were transferred to the new unitary authority

, which also covers the former districts of

Allerdale Allerdale was a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with Borough status in England and Wales, borough status. Its council – Allerdale Borough Council – was based in Workington, and the borough had a population of 96,422 at the ...

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Demographics

In 2014 the borough of Copeland was found to have the fattest population in England with a percentage of 75.9% being either overweight or obese (BMI greater than 25) according to official PHE statistics. In 2018 Copeland had the third highest median income of UK local authorities, after the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

. However this median hides the wide differences in income between those who work at the

Sellafield Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...

nuclear reprocessing site and elsewhere in the borough, leading to Copeland being described as 'a community of two-halves'.

Governance

Elections to the borough council were held every four years, with 51

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s being elected at each election. From the first election in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

the council had been under Labour control, apart from between 1976 and 1979 when it was under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

. At the time of the final election in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

the council was composed of the following councillors:

Directly elected mayor

On 22 May 2014 a referendum was carried out in the borough to change the style of governance in Copeland to a directly elected mayor, after campaigners from the ''Time For Change'' team successfully obtained enough signatures from 5% of the electorate in a petition. The referendum result was: For: 12,671; Against: 5,489. The first election for mayor was held on 7 May 2015 and Mike Starkie (elected as an Independent candidate, but later joining the Conservative Party) was elected by 15,232 votes to the Labour Party candidate Steve Gibbon's 14,259 votes.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Copeland. * Gary McKee: 21 October 2017.

Map

Notes

References

* Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (2008) ''Hodgson Saga'', second edition (Standon, Hertfordshire: Martlet Books). * Wainwright, F. T. (1975) ''Scandinavian England: Collected Papers'' (Chichester: Phillimore). * Winchester, Angus J. L. (1985) 'The Multiple Estate: A Framework for the Evolution of Settlement in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian Cumbria', in Baldwin, John R. and Whyte, Ian D. (eds) (1985) ''The Scandinavians in Cumbria'' (Edinburgh: The Scottish Society for Northern Studies), pp. 89–101.

External links

Copeland information website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Borough of Former non-metropolitan districts of Cumbria 1974 establishments in England 2023 disestablishments in England Former boroughs in England Cumberland (unitary authority)