Future of Tribe Carlisle being 'assessed' by Cumberland Council

Cumberland council has confirmed that they own the former Carlisle City Council site but any long-term future plans for the site in Bitts Park have yet to be decided.

Built from shipping containers, the courtyard aimed to showcase a range of local companies and fuse 'concepts of the modern street market and independent retail'.

The site opened in 2021 to great acclaim and despite a successful opening year, the operating company -Tribe Community Interest Company (CIC) - entered voluntary liquidation barely a year after opening.

The former operator, Joe Gardham, was contracted to run the site by Carlisle City Council upon its opening.

The site opened in the midst of the city’s recovery from the Covid pandemic and became a popular spot for families and friends to meet up but ran into financial difficulty which forced many of the vendors to leave.

Tribe was taken over by the former Carlisle City Council and continues to operate now but with just three businesses on site.

Following the restructure of local government in Cumbria, the site has been taken over by the Cumberland unitary authority who are assessing their options for the ‘future management’ of the site.

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A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: “The Tribe site continues to be in the possession of the council and businesses continue to trade.

“Discussions are ongoing with the tenants and options are being assessed for the future management of the site.”

In January the former city council said that discussions were currently underway to sort short-term arrangements for the still-standing businesses that operate on the site, whilst 'longer term plans are assessed'.

Meanwhile, the planning application for the proposed STACK development at the Lowther Street car park is still underway with Cumberland Council unable to comment on any further details.