A series of challenges facing the upcoming Westmorland and Furness Council has been outlined in a report.
A sparse population and diminishing workforce are among the obstacles that the new unitary authority will need to get to grips with.
The council will replace Barrow Borough Council, South Lakeland District Council and Eden District Council from April of next year.
A shadow authority currently in place is overseeing planning and preparation for the new council.
The challenges the unitary council will face are outlined in a report authored by Dan Hudson, strategy lead specialist at South Lakeland District Council, ahead of a meeting of the shadow unitary authority’s overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday.
Mr Hudson says Westmorland and Furness is to be England’s most sparsely populated local authority, with 62 people per square kilometre.
“This masks local disparities, with only 25 per square kilometre in Eden but 867 per square kilometre in Barrow,” he says. “This presents challenges in terms of sustaining and delivering services to small and widely distributed communities.
“Sparseness and rurality also present challenges in terms of public transport, connectivity more generally and broadband connectivity.”
Mr Hudson says the Westmorland and Furness area has ‘an ageing population and a declining workforce’.
“By 2043, if current trends continue, it will have 10,400 fewer people of working age,” he says. “So it needs to grow its economy, provide housing and employment opportunities to encourage the young to stay, and attract young families, skilled people and wealth creators to locate in the district,” he said.
“At the same time, there will be an additional 15,000 people of 65 or older.
“So we need to encourage people to stay active and healthy for longer and promote housing and care options which promote active life.”
Mr Hudson says in the report that 7.9 per cent of the Westmorland and Furness district falls amongst the most deprived 10 per cent of areas in England. This 7.9 per cent is exclusively in the Barrow area.
South Lakeland has, says Mr Hudson, ‘some of the least affordable housing in the North of England’, with median house prices 10.12 times median workplace income.
