Community Panels: Cumberland Council

Cumberland Council was created in 2023 through the merger of Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland district councils and half of Cumbria County Council. The Shadow Council used this opportunity to establish a Communities and Localities Steering Group in preparation for the establishment of Cumberland. The result was the development of Community Panels which are designed to bring decisions closer to local communities, in line with Cumberland’s Council Plan 2023-2027. The eight panels are based around communities of place, and elected members were given the opportunity to determine the name of each one as the first step towards ownership. 

Each Community Panel is made up of the Cumberland councillors with wards in the defined panel footprint area; this varies between five and seven councillors depending on the area. Each panel is also able to co-opt members. These individuals do not possess decision-making powers and have been selected through local applications rather than by election. Their involvement is restricted to the work of the community panel they are attached to, but this has the advantage of them being focused on this one area of the Council. 

The Community Panels have been formally established under the Local Government Act (2000), with formal powers delegated from the Council’s constitution. There are four meetings per municipal year, and each panel is required to have a Chair and Vice Chair. However, there is flexibility for each panel to vary some aspects e.g. chose priorities that match their area, funding decisions, co-opted members. Some allow public participation in meetings whilst others have organised a pre-meeting with local residents.

Each Community Panel has identified a range of local priorities. For example, the Border, Fellside and North Carlisle Community Panel has identified the following as local priorities:

• Highways: Improving roads and pavements, addressing road safety, improving access to transport, supporting cycling and walking initiatives.
• Community facilities and support: Community buildings, play parks and playing fields, youth and sports clubs, and community activities.
• The environment: Improving biodiversity and enhancing natural spaces, addressing climate change, and supporting energy-saving projects.

In developing the priorities, there was engagement within the community panel footprint to test out the priorities put forward with local residents. These priorities determine how and where the community panel invests and this is monitored on an ongoing basis. The priorities also feature as part of the initial Neighbourhood Investment Plans which will be further developed over the next 18 months.

Each Community Panel receives a share of the Neighbourhood Investment Fund, which stands at £750,000 across Cumberland. The funding is split between the eight panels using the Standard Mortality Rate. The Council made a deliberate decision to increase this funding in its second year. 

The Council will continue to consider if further internal or external funding sources can be secured where the decisions about distribution can be made at the Community Panel level.

Each Panel has access to and is supported by a team of officers where this is either the main part of their role or is part of a wider role. This includes a chief officer, a community development officer, a community development assistant, an area planning manager and a democratic services officer.

Outside of the formal meetings, each Community Panel engages with local residents. This is called Community Network activity and is broad in its range. Cumberland encourages its officers and members to meet residents on their own terms, hosting information and engagement sessions in community centres, auction marts, agricultural fairs and even local factories. 

Cumberland have also utilised the Place Standard concept to supplement the work of the eight Community Panels. This is a visual audit of a local area undertaken with key local stakeholders, both within and external to the Council such as the police. This approach can, and often does include offers to the public to join the exercise. It captures both good and bad, and can be used to fuel both short-term and long-term plans. Recent examples have taken place in Whitehaven and Carlisle, and Carlisle was also used in a specific version of the Place Standard which focused on Community Safety and was utilised to examine the night-time economy. Cumberland’s ambition is to undertake one Place Standard exercise in each Community Panel area per year as a minimum.

• It is important to secure cross-organisation buy-in to neighbourhood governance. Support from senior leadership has enabled Cumberland to move ahead with the Community Panels at the start of the new Council (April 2023) with the first formal meetings held across June 2023.
• The Community Panels (and associated network activity, funding and plans) are a work in progress and this was stressed at the outset. The Council is keen to look at empowering them further to ensure the framework put in place remains effective and continues to improve.
• The Community Panel concept was introduced as part of the new Council and at a time of great change for officers and members. However, by forging ahead during this difficult period, Cumberland have been able to start making early progress at the neighbourhood level.
• It is easier to encourage attendance and participation at network events if each session is themed around a key topic. For example, the Fells and Solway Community Panel has held a session on their local priority of community safety and rural crime. Those attending felt it was worthwhile to turn out for an opportunity to speak to a number of individuals about several related issues.
• There was a desire from across the Council and partners to attend the initial formal meetings to deliver presentations. This led to very long meetings, most of which were held in the evening. These were quickly taken out of future formal meetings and moved to either network events or Member Briefings. (Member Briefings are held three times a month, 11 months of the year on Teams and provide space for officers to discuss plans and ideas in an informal setting where members can ask questions. This can help shape future decisions around services and policies).
• Network Panels were set up alongside Community Panels. They were open to all and were to meet four times a year. Within the first few months, it was clear that the membership would be limited and the format would discourage most residents from joining. These were disbanded and the umbrella term ‘network activity’ was used to describe the many different ways we interact.
• This way of working has set the foundations to look seriously at community power in Cumberland and how the Council can improve so that we empower communities to a greater extent.

Useful links

Cumberland Council's website: Community Panels | Cumberland Council

More information

Contact [email protected] or [email protected].