SOUTH Lakeland District Council has made it a priority to make its website better after it was given only one star during an expert audit.

The website, www.southlakeland.gov.uk, scored the lowest of all the district councils in Cumbria - apart from Barrow Borough Council which did not take part.

The grading came from the Society of Information Technology Managers (SOCITM), which are specialists in local authority and public sector websites.

At a meeting of the council last night (Thursday), councillors were told that the authority is working hard to improve the site.

Conservative leader Coun David Williams (Windermere Bowness South) asked opposition Lib Dems if media reports were true that SLDC's website scored the lowest in Cumbria.

The Lib Dem portfolio holder, Coun Sue Sanderson (Staveley-in-Cartmel) said: "We did only get one star for our website but I know Simon Reynolds (SLDC's communications manager) and other people are working very hard on it.

"It's been a priority for development. It's quite complex and involves a lot of work. It's also being done in-house rather than spending extra money getting it done from outside. It is being worked on very hard by a group of very willing people."

In the survey, Eden District Council, Allerdale and Carlisle City Council all won four star ratings for their websites, while Cumbria County Council received five stars for the first time.