Cumbria House is a municipal building in the Botchergate area of

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 ...

, England. It is used by Cumberland Council.

History

Throughout much of the 20th century, the administration of Cumberland County Council had been carried out from the Courts in Carlisle. After amalgamation with Westmorland County Council in 1974,

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council was the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it was an elected local government body re ...

continued to use these facilities as well as a series of Victorian houses on Portland Square, Brunswick Street and Alfred Street North in Carlisle together with Lonsdale House in Lower Gaol Yard in Carlisle. In the early 21st century, as a cost-saving measure, council leaders decided to co-locate all council activities in a single building: the site they selected had been occupied by a former retail unit which had been converted for residential use (107-109 Botchergate) and a medical treatment centre (113-117 Botchergate). The new building, which was designed by architects, AHR, and built by Eric Wright Construction, was completed in December 2016. The design for the

steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...

d building involved a wide glass and steel main frontage facing Botchergate with the right hand section projected forward. The footprint of the building, with the left hand section set back, was designed to create a forecourt in which people could safely protest without being at risk from road traffic. The new offices were built to accommodate some 700 staff and to act as a catalyst for urban regeneration in the Botchergate area. Although the administrative offices of the County Council were at Cumbria House in Botchergate, formal meetings of the Council continued to be held at the County Offices in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

. In July 2019, the environmental movement,

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...

, held a demonstration in the forecourt outside the building. In September 2022, it was decided that Cumbria House would become the new headquarters for Cumberland Council.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Carlisle, Cumbria County halls in England Government buildings completed in 2016