The chief executives of Cumbria’s two new councils are to brief the business community about the radical changes to local government that will take effect next month.
From April 1, the current six district councils and Cumbria County Council will be replaced by two new unitary authorities.
Andrew Seekings, chief executive of the new Cumberland Council, and Sam Plum, chief executive of the Westmorland and Furness Council, will be speaking at a special event organised by business network LA23NET on March 22 – just days before the big switchover.
The event will take place at the Rheged Centre, Penrith, and will be chaired by BBC journalist Tom Speight.
Helen Statham, of Intro PR who organises the LA23NET events, said: “We’re delighted that Sam and Andrew will be able to join us to give business people some insight into the huge changes that are about to take place.
“Will Cumbria still exist? What impact will all this have on our council tax bills? Will the two new councils drift apart with different objectives? There are so many questions and it will be fascinating to see what our audience want to focus on.”
John Haley, commercial partner at Edwin Thompson, one of the sponsors of LA23NET, suggested the topic and is delighted that both chief executives have been able to attend.
He said: “This will be a huge change for our county and will impact on businesses and residents in many ways so it’s great that we will be able to have this meeting just a few days before all the big changes come into effect.”
Over half the tickets have already been sold and the remainder can be booked at https://bit.ly/LA23NETMAR
