THE FIRST meeting of the new Cumberland Council will take place in April it has been announced.

The Annual General Meeting of the new authority will mark a significant milestone in the political history of the county when the existing councils of Carlisle City Council, Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council will be joined into one unitary Cumberland Authority.

The council will come into force on April, 1 when the council officially takes over as the statutory authority of the existing councils.

At a meeting yesterday, January 26 the leadership of the council announced that the first ever meeting of the council will be an Annual General Meeting held on April, 13 2023.

During the meeting, processes will be in place to appoint the first ever chair of Cumberland Council, with longstanding Councillor Carni Mccarron Holmes taking on the role.

The meeting will be the first historic meeting of the new council and marks major changes for the county. 

On April, 1 the new Westmorland and Furness shadow authority will also take over as the authority for the former South Lakeland, Eden and Barrow councils.