THIS year’s district and county council elections have been postponed till next year after the launch of a formal consultation on Cumbria’s unitary authority plans.

Residents, businesses, community and voluntary sector organisations in Cumbria will have until April 19 to have their say on the four proposals submitted to and accepted by the Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick, by the county’s local authorities.

As a result of the consultation, elections due to be held in May this year in Cumbria will be rescheduled to May 2022 to avoid members potentially being elected to serve short terms.

Cumbria County Council submitted its ‘One Cumbria’ proposal for a single unitary council covering the entirety of Cumbria.

While Barrow, South Lakeland and Lancaster City Council jointly submitted their Bay proposal, comprising the area covered by Barrow Borough, South Lakeland District and Lancaster City Councils.

The new authority would deliver the services currently provided by both the district and county councils such as waste and recycling collections, public realm, planning, highways and transport and adult and children’s social care.

Proposals have also been submitted by Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council jointly and Carlisle City Council and Eden District Council jointly.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the three councils, Councillor Ann Thomson from Barrow Borough Council, Councillor Dr Erica Lewis from Lancaster City Council and Councillor Giles Archibald from South Lakeland District Council, have urged everyone who has so far supported The Bay proposal to make sure Government hears their voices during the next round of consultation.

They said: “We have made a powerful case to Government and have demonstrated strong local support for The Bay. We are therefore pleased that Government has now announced it will carry out its own consultation on the proposal.

“We have a shared vision and purpose and we now need to make sure that Government is left in no doubt that our residents, businesses and organisations all believe that a Bay unitary is the best option.

“This is a crucially important decision that will shape the future for our communities.

“It is clear that the Government wishes to replace the existing two-tier system of county and district councils with a new unitary model where there is a single tier.

“If that is the case then we firmly believe The Bay unitary is the most ambitious, forward-thinking and rational plan for our areas, based on strong existing community and economic links and a credible geography.

“We hope that as many people as possible will now engage with the Government consultation and back The Bay.’’

Stewart Young, leader of Cumbria County Council said: “This day has been a long time coming and I am personally delighted that it is here.

“At long last the Cumbrian people and its many organisations, partners and businesses have been offered the opportunity to influence and shape the future of Local Government in our County.

“Removing layers of unnecessary bureaucracy and streamlining seven councils down into a local model that makes much more sense to our residents and to our communities.

“I can only hope that despite everything else that is going on at the moment, that people try and make the time to make their views and opinions known so that any final decision by government can be informed by what people want locally.”

The Local Government Secretary will consider all proposals following the consultation before making a decision about which option, if any, to implement.

A Government spokeswoman said, subject to Parliamentary approval, it expects any new unitary council to be fully operational from April 2023 with transitional arrangements expected to be in place from 2022, including elections in May 2022 to the shadow or continuing councils.

Members of the public will be able to offer their opinions via an online survey at consult.communities.gov.uk/governance-reform-and-democracy/cumbria, or by email at unitaryconsultation@communities.gov.uk