IF THE North West votes for its own assembly next year Cumbria looks set to be carved up, wiping out six district councils and a county council.

The Government has made it clear that a regional assembly would come hand in hand with new single tier unitary authorities so if we vote yes the current district and county council system will have to go.

Structures established during the last major shake-up in 1974, including Cumbria County Council, South Lakeland and Eden District councils, would be pulled down and streamlined potentially putting dozens of councillors out of a job.

The Boundary Commission has been charged with the responsibility of redrawing the local government map and creating a unitary authority system suitable for our region.

Several options are on the table, including a single unitary authority for the whole of Cumbria and a three-way split (see picture, left), which would see South Lakeland joined with Furness.

The Boundary Commission is also looking at a opother unitary options for the county including the three options reproduced below.

A yes' vote in the referendum would automatically seal the boundaries of the new unitary authorities.

The Cumbria Branch of the Local Government Association was unable to come to a unanimous view over which would be the best unitary authority system for the county.

CCC has argued in favour of a single body covering the whole of the county while SLDC would prefer a three-way split.

These new unitary authorities would be responsible for delivering most of the services now shared between district and county council including high cost responsibilities such as education and social services.

Above them the new elected regional assembly would make strategic decisions effecting economic development, housing, transport and culture.

The NWRA claims there are now an estimated 70,000 people sitting on the boards of quangos spending about £60 billion of taxpayers money each year. But these bodies are not directly democratically accountable to the people in the regions they serve. Supporters of the assembly claim an elected body would change that.

April 10, 2003 14:30