Kendal’s County Hall will be permanently closed and declared surplus to requirements.
At a meeting yesterday, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet approved the recommendations put forward in a report.
It follows an earlier decision in June 2024 to close the building for day‑to‑day operations – aside from the archive collection – and move services elsewhere in Kendal.
Customer services, registrars and ceremonies, council meetings and other public-facing services are carried out from Kendal Town Hall and South Lakeland House.
Cumbria Archives, a countywide service, jointly funded and provided by Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils, has agreed that Kendal County Hall was no longer suitable for the storage of archive collections.
The council said to protect the long-term future of the collections, most will be moved into specialist storage designed to keep documents safe for generations.
Some materials will remain in Cumbria in Barrow and Carlisle’s archive centres.
There will be a temporary pause of up to three months in public access while materials are relocated.
Then the public search room will reopen at Kendal Library.
There will be further consultation later this year before longer-term decisions are made about archive services, the council said.
The surplus asset approval includes the main building, the front and immediate rear car parks and the next-door visitor car park inclusive of 155 Stricklandgate.
The main pay and display car park to the rear and ancillary land will be kept by the council.
The cabinet agreed to move to a Community Asset Transfer and/or market value sale in line with its Strategic Asset Management Strategy 2024–2029, which emphasises active management of the authority’s estate and the release of underused assets.
Deputy leader Andrew Jarvis, who is also cabinet member for finance, said the council remained committed to listening carefully to community views, and ensuring decisions delivered value for money services.
That included rationalising the large number of buildings inherited when four councils were brought together to form Westmorland and Furness Council three years ago.
He said: “We know County Hall is part of Kendal’s story, and we understand that people will feel strongly about what happens next.
“We believe it can have a bright and useful future, and also remain an important part of the town’s identity and architecture.
“Our responsibility is to deliver for residents now and in the future. With the moving of the archives collection to more appropriate storage and no other identified use for the building, this feels like the right time to move forward on disposal.
“We will continue to listen to local views as we do so.”
- If any group would like an initial conversation about a Community Asset Transfer, contact the community team via email at [email protected].
