WITH less than 100 days to go until vesting day for the new Cumberland Council, the authority’s deputy leader has pledged to “always be a strong voice for Copeland”.

From April 1, Cumberland Council will govern Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland with all the responsibilities and decision-making powers of both a county council and borough council.

A shadow authority is currently serving alongside the existing councils and deputy leader, Emma Williamson said there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

She said: “We’re just working hard along with all the officers to make sure that everything goes smoothly. We want there to be no change for residents on day one, although there’s a lot of change to do. Our officers are working flat out.

“What we want on April 1, is when somebody rings and wants their bins emptied, or they’ve got a homeless application, they’re dealt with the same as they would be on March 31.”

Cllr Williamson has served as a county councillor for the last five years and was elected to represent the Kells and Sandwith ward in the Cumberland Council elections.

She was later named one of the authority’s deputy leaders, along with Cllr Lisa Brown. Mark Fryer was elected leader.

When asked about the biggest challenges facing the new authority, Cllr Williamson said: “I think the biggest challenge is we are merging four different cultures. We’re all really passionate and we’ve all got great values but that’s going to be a big change for a lot of people.

“Some people are going to be working in a council where they have never worked with things like adult social care and children’s services and likewise, the county council are going to be working with district services.

“It’s going to take a big effort from all of us but I think everybody’s ready for it. The passion and graft is there. Everyone is willing and able.”

She said the cost of living crisis was also a big challenge.

“It doesn’t matter if we are starting a new council on April 1 or going into a new budget year, there’s massive challenges. That’s difficult and we’ve got to do the best for our residents.

“I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and seeing how children’s services runs and being able to make some of those transformational changes.

“I’m really looking forward to listening to the people who use our services and understanding how best to deliver for them. We’ve got to remember that councillors are elected by residents to be their voice. They give us their trust and expect us to be able to do the best for them.

“I’m excited that we’ve go such a strong group of different councillors with all different experiences.

“We’ve got brand new councillors that are really passionate and bring a fresh look at everything and we’ve got really experienced councillors who bring knowledge.

“Together we’ve got a fantastic team and we all want to make a difference. That’s how we’re going to be successful – by working together for our residents.”

Cllr Williamson stressed that Copeland would “never be forgotten” or “not heard”.

She said: “What’s really important is we’ve got leaders across the board. I went into this because I’m really passionate about my community and my community is Copeland.

“I’m there to make sure we’re always on the map. But I do want to stress, there’s going to be no Copeland, Allerdale and Carlisle anymore. We’re going to be Cumberland.

“Although we’re going to be one, there will be some locality working but we are going to be one council. We’re all in this together. What matters to me in Wigton, matters to me in Botcherby, it matters to me in Kells. Each area is as important as the other.

“I truly believe this is going to make a big difference because we are going to have one council able to deliver services. What I’ve had for years as a county councillor, is people didn’t know whose responsibility was the roads, or the bins, but now it’s all our responsibility. There’s no shying away.

“We’re going to have a really highly skilled workforce because you’re merging three districts and county and they’re all going to learn new skills and new ways of working.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more partnership working.”

When asked about the benefits of having one combined authority, Cllr Williamson said: “For the residents, they’ve just got one councillor to ring.

“Some wards have got five or six different councillors at the minute, whereas my ward now will have one councillor. It’s less confusing for residents.

“I think now we can really look at that transformational change. There are some great minds and ideas.”

Speaking about being elected as one of the deputy leaders, Cllr Williamson said: “In my community, I don’t think anything will change because I’ve always delivered for my community and been a voice. What changes is I have a lot more say and information at hand.

“Mark [Fryer] is the type of leader who tells us everything. He values our opinion. He listens to the group. I feel like if there are things I want to change, I can do that now because I’m in a leadership role.

“As a backbencher, which is what I’ve done for the last five years, you can work extremely hard in your community but you have no power over decisions and being able to change things.

“Although we only have 10 in the executive, we have regular meetings where we talk about everything and that’s totally different. You feel really involved. He listens to us and really cares about what we think.”

READ MORE: Cumberland leader Mark Fryer talks 100 days until Vesting Day