Westmorland and Furness Council

Westmorland and Furness Council is the local authority for Westmorland and Furness, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since its creation in 2023. It has its official headquarters at the Town Hall and adjoining South Lakeland House in Kendal, with additional offices in Barrow-in-Furness and Penrith.

Westmorland and Furness Council
Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 2023
Leadership
Chair	Doug Rathbone, Liberal Democrats since 7 May 2025[1]
Leader	Jonathan Brook, Liberal Democrats since 1 April 2023[2]
Chief Executive	Sam Plum since 31 December 2022[3]
Structure
Seats	65 councillors
Political groups	Administration (36)   Liberal Democrat (36) Other parties (29)   Labour (15)   Conservative (10)   Green (1)   Independent (3)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Town Hall, Highgate, Kendal, LA9 4DL
Website
www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk

History

The district of Westmorland and Furness and its council were created in 2023. The district covers the combined area of the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland. The new council took over the functions of the three former district councils plus those of the abolished Cumbria County Council within the area. Legally, Westmorland and Furness is both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but there is no separate county council; instead the district council also performs the functions of a county council, making it a unitary authority.^[4] For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Westmorland and Furness remains part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria.^[5]

The inaugural election to the new council was held on 5 May 2022. It initially operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until 1 April 2023, when the new district and its council formally came into being.^[4]

Governance

Westmorland and Furness Council provides both district-level and county-level services. The whole area is also covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government.^[6]

Much of the west of the district lies within the Lake District National Park, and south-eastern parts of the district lie within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. In those areas, town and country planning is the responsibility of the national park authorities. Westmorland and Furness Council appoints six of its councillors to serve on the 20-person Lake District National Park Authority,^[7] and three of its councillors to serve on the 25-person Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.^[8]

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since its creation.^[9]

Party in control		Years
	Liberal Democrats	2023–present

Leadership

Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The first leader is Jonathan Brook, a Liberal Democrat, who was also the last leader of South Lakeland District Council.^[10][11]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Jonathan Brook[12]		Liberal Democrats	1 Apr 2023

Composition

Following the 2022 election,^[13][14] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:^[15]

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	36
	Labour	15
	Conservative	10
	Green	1
	Independent	3
Total		65

The three independent councillors sit in a group with the Green councillor. The next election is due in 2027.^[15]

Elections

See also: Westmorland and Furness Council elections

The council comprises 65 councillors representing 33 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are to be held every four years from 2027.^[4]

Premises

Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall: One of the council's three main offices

The council has its official headquarters at Kendal Town Hall and the adjoining South Lakeland House at the junction of Highgate and Lowther Street in the centre of Kendal. Other buildings are at Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall and Voreda House in Penrith.^[16][17]

County Hall, Kendal: Used for full council meetings until 2024

Full council meetings were initially held at County Hall in Kendal, the former headquarters of Westmorland County Council, which had been built in 1939.^[18][19] In June 2024 the council decided to close County Hall in September 2024 and move meetings to Kendal Town Hall.^[20]