Spatial Portrait of Cumberland

Cumberland is home to some of the most striking geography and landscapes in England. It is home to the most mountainous areas of the country with the high fells falling into the upland moorland and high plateaus. This landscape continues to fall into the coastal plains that stretch from West Cumbria to the Solway, while the coastline itself varies from the dunes and mosses in the north and south surrounding the sandstone cliffs of the St. Bees and Whitehaven Heritage Coast in the middle.

2.2 The uniqueness of the landscape is matched by our rich ecological vibrancy with otters in the waterways, seabirds along the coastlines, and the occasional red squirrel in the woodlands. Our environment provides habitats to highly protected and vulnerable flora and fauna such as natterjack toads, small blue butterflies and a variety of wildflowers.

2.3 Its special and historical rural and coastal landscapes are reflected by the designations of two World Heritage Sites (Hadrian’s Wall and English Lake District), two National Landscape (Solway Coast and the North Pennines) and two Ramsar Sites (Duddon Estuary and the Upper Solway Flats and Marshes), all of which contribute to a thriving visitor economy.

2.4 The landscapes of West and South Cumberland are closely intertwined with human activity from the worked fells and the scattering of old mines and wagonways, to the wind turbines and solar farms of the more modern green energy development and the factories of strategically important industries. Its built environment is closely woven to the coast with its largest post-industrial towns located along the coastline.

2.5 In contrast, the northern areas of Cumberland are focused upon the Roman city of Carlisle and a series of market towns and villages which have a more classically agricultural pattern of development.

2.6 Given the size and geographic scale of Cumberland, it’s no surprise that it has a number of varying challenges, strengths and opportunities presenting specific and unique challenges that require integrated strategic policy solutions.

2.7 Cumberland has excellent road and rail connections to cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Birmingham via the M6 and the West Coast Main Line. More locally, a number of key settlements and places of employment are served by the Cumbrian Coast, Tyne Valley and Carlisle-Settle trainlines and the strategic road networks of the A66, A69, A595 and A596. There is a heavy reliance on the use of the private car, due to the highly rural nature of most of Cumberland and the limited public transport services in these areas.

2.8 Together with Carlisle Airport and the Ports of Workington, Millom and Silloth, the rail network enables local, regional, national and international freight movements to support the Cumberland economy.

2.9 Cumberland has a population of around 275,000 people and it is one of the least densely populated areas in the country with more than half of the population living in a rural area (compared to 17.1% nationally).

2.10 Historically Cumberland has struggled with digital connectivity as the geography and sparse population has discouraged commercial investment by both fixed line and mobile networks. However, in the last 10 years there has been significant improvements in connectivity with further improvements expected until at least 2028. More than 71% of properties in Cumberland are able to access gigabit capable broadband services, and outdoor 4G coverage from all major mobile networks is available to more than 76% of the Cumberland landmass.

2.11 It does have an ageing population but, unlike the national trend, the area has shown only limited population growth. Combined, this means that its population is getting both older and smaller.

2.12 Whilst the life expectancy for both males and females has risen, it remains below the national averages with the overall levels of good health worsening. On average, males in Cumberland will spend 19 years of their life in ill-health and females 22.4 years.

2.13 One key health inequality is obesity, with annual increases to the levels of both child and adult obesity which is reflective of the national trend.

2.14 Home ownership levels in Cumberland are higher than the national average but it is key to ensure that the housing market provides housing that is safe, secure, suitable and affordable for all. In some areas, almost half of residents live in socially rented housing, whilst in other areas almost half of properties are privately rented. Overall, housing is generally more affordable compared to the national data, but this masks disparities across the area, with rural house prices being higher than those in more urban areas.

2.15 There are opportunities to raise education attainment levels and develop the skills base with large levels of investment and exciting expansions to the University of Cumbria and alternative education provision that reflects the economic needs of the area (Energy Coast UTC and vocational courses at Carlisle College, Lakes College and various Sixth Forms). This is a key part of the approach to retain Cumberland’s working age population and to recruit people from outside the area to strengthen the local workforce.

2.16 Cumberland has a strong manufacturing and engineering economy and is home to many nationally and internationally recognised brands including New Balance, SIS Pitches, Pirelli, Innovia Films and Sealy Beds. This is reflected in the fact that manufacturing is the largest employment sector, followed by the wholesale and retail sectors and health and social work. However, when looking at the number of enterprises in the area, this is dominated by the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector and the construction and accommodation and food services sectors, reflecting its strong rural and visitor economies typified by smaller businesses. Sellafield is a key employer and supports the local supply chain as a nationally important centre for nuclear decommissioning and research and development.

2.17 Globally and nationally, climate change is a key issue; in Cumberland the current prevalent issues presented by more extreme and more frequent weather events are flooding and coastal erosion, but there is also the issue of summer droughts, wildfires and poor water and air quality in certain areas.

2.18 Cumberland plays an important national role in the provision of minerals and the management of waste. The mineral aggregates produced by its sand and gravel and crushed rock quarries are of regional and national importance, with Cumberland being home to the only quarry in England that produces produce the very high specification roadstone essential for the building and maintenance of roads, especially motorways. Cumberland is also unique in that it hosts the majority of the UK’s legacy radioactive waste in specialist facilities at Sellafield and the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) at Drigg.

2.19 It is recognised that given the size of Cumberland, the data provided at authority level will not be fully reflective of the distinctive social, economic and physical characteristics experienced in different areas. Therefore, the Council intends to publish a more detailed Spatial Portrait as a standalone document to support its Preferred Options document. This will contain data analysis of different sub-areas within Cumberland to highlight such variations and, in combination with the responses from this Issues and Options consultation, will be used to inform, and provide evidence for, our preferred policy options.