THE LEADER of the council has revealed fears that the county's name will be abolished in plans for Local Government Reform.

Leader of Cumbria County Council Stewart Young commented on the release of a Structural Change Order at a meeting of the council at Carlisle Racecourse yesterday.

A Structural Change Order is the document giving Government the legal authority to reform how a county is governed.

It is an important step in the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process which was set in motion to split Cumbria in two.

After LGR, Cumbria will be governed by two councils, not the existing six.

Carlisle, Copeland and Allerdale will be governed by one authority, Eden South Lakeland and Barrow-in-Furness will be governed by another.

But Cllr Young believes Cumbria will no longer exist at all and residents of the two regions will be living in areas named after the two councils.

At the meeting, deputy leader of the council Peter Thornton suggested that the two councils would be named 'Cumberland' for the west and 'Westmorland and Furness' for the east.

Cllr Young said: "Some members including the three group leaders were involved in a chief officer committee which went on quite late last night and it (the SCO) arrived while we were in that meeting.

"They do contain details of the number of councillors expected in the two authorities, some details at least for one of the authorities about the areas those councillors will represent and details of the joint committees and their unbalanced membership which will be set up next year.

"The council and the six district/borough councils have two weeks in which to respond to the draft Structural Change Order."

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Young said: “They’re abolishing the county. I think people think they’re just abolishing the councils. They’re splitting the county.

“So we’ll be ruled by two new councils, one of which will be called Cumberland, even though its not on the footprint of the old Cumberland.”

Cllr Young believes ministers intend to name the east constituency which is comprised of Eden, South Lakeland and Barrow-in-Furness: 'Westmorland and Furness'.

“They will become the two areas, there won’t be such a thing as Cumbria anymore.”

The leader of Cumbria County Council believes Cumbria is heading for the same fate.

“Cumbria will cease to exist on March 1 2023.”

He said that it will be a blow to many who are proud of their identity.

“I think of myself as a Cumbrian and I’m proud to be Cumbrian.”

Cllr Young, who is also the leader of council’s Labour Party said: “I don’t think businesses out there have any idea of what is being proposed or the implications for their business.”

The council’s Cabinet led by Cllr Young has launched a Judicial Review, or legal challenge, against Local Government Reform.