THE LAST ever Annual General Meeting was held at Copeland Borough Council on Tuesday; councillors and the elected mayor foresee an exciting future for the area.

Copeland Council is set to be replaced by the new Cumberland Council, covering Copeland Allerdale and Carlisle in April 2023.

The existing borough, city and county councils will remain in place for the next 12 months until the transition process is complete.

The AGM this week was the council’s last before it abolished on Cumberland Council’s Vesting Day: April 1, 2023.

Mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie gave his final speech to the AGM, setting out his expectations for a bright future in the area and thanking officers for their work.

“This is the final ever AGM of Copeland Borough Council going all the way back to 1974 and we are on the cusp of a new era.

“I’m particularly proud of the part Copeland’s played in bringing around the change that I think everybody has agreed has been necessary for a number of years and to finally get to local government reorganisation that I think provides us a platform to take the county forward in the future.

“The election last Thursday, I’d like to particularly thank Stephanie Shaw and the team. Thursday was just typical of what we’ve come to extend, it went like clockwork.”

Mr Starkie said that the community and local authority pulled together during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure vulnerable people received the support they needed.

“We put 580 business grants out before any council in Cumbria put any out at all.”

“I’d particularly like to thank Pat Graham, whose been chief executive for the majority of my time here, took on a huge rebuilding job when she took the role in October 2015 when we had depleted staff, very few qualified people and it’s had to be built from the bottom up.

“What this council will bequeath to the Cumberland authority are some outstanding officers across the board in every single department.”

Mr Starkie said that amongst the plans already set in motion by Copeland Council is a “transformational project” in Cleator Moor with the Leconfield Industrial Estate redevelopment.

The mayor revealed that a second Levelling-Up bid is set to be submitted for the proposed business cluster.

Mr Starkie said that he expects imminent positive news about the borough’s bid to house a fleet of Small Modular Reactors and a prototype fusion reactor as well as West Cumbria Mining’s proposed metallurgical coal mine.