Council plan

Cumberland inspires pride of place, but it is also an area of stark contrast. We are home to some of the world’s most stunning rural and coastal landscapes, but we also have areas in our city and towns in need of renewal.

Our economy contains strong agricultural and tourism sectors, but we are also a manufacturing economy that boasts some of the most famous brands in the world. We are an economy of small businesses, but we also host the largest nuclear site in Europe. Household earnings in some areas are amongst the highest in the northwest, but we have pockets of real deprivation and have more households living in fuel poverty than the national average.

We are one of the best places to visit, boasting two world heritage sites, an area of outstanding natural beauty and world class attractions that draw in millions of visitors. We are one of the safest places to live, but our increasingly diverse population is aging and declining.

We have some of the lowest cost housing in the country, but we have issues with affordability and the availability of houses built for social rent.

Some of our residents can expect to live some of the longest lives in the country, but other parts of Cumberland are below the national average for life expectancy. Inequalities can be extreme, and they have real day to day impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods.

We are already seeing the impact of the climate emergency, responding to and recovering from the devastating effects on our communities from severe weather and unprecedented flooding.

The cost of living crisis and the Covid-19 recovery is affecting everyone, but there are opportunities created by our people, our environment and our businesses to make our area work to the benefit of everyone.

Some facts about Cumberland:

• 5.6% of all children come from an ethnic minority background according to the school census (2021).
• 14 community areas in Cumberland fall within the 10% most deprived of areas in England, but 10 are amongst the least deprived
• 16.1% of children live in Relatively Low Income Families, this figure is much higher in some parts of Cumberland.
• Total crime rate per 1,000 population is 68.3 which is below the national average.
• 67 languages are spoken by children in Cumberland schools.
• 10,799 children were reported as living in relative poverty by End Child Poverty in the summer of 2022.
• Median household income is £28,794, lower than the national average.
• There are 125,500 households in Cumberland.
• Our population is getting older. The number of people over 65 is due to increase from 64,000 to 82,100 by2040.
• We know our population is 274,000. But we also know that this is due to fall by 0.3% by 2028.
• The median house price is below the national average at £155,630.
• Children looked after rate of 88 per 10,000 is significantly above the national average of 67 per 10,000.
• We are home to11,565 businesses. 90% of those businesses are microbusinesses.
• 20% of people in Cumberland report that their daily activities are limited because of an illness or disability. This is higher than the national average.
• Only 31.5% of the working age population have qualifications to NVQ4+, this is worse than the national average.
• 4.7% of the working age population have no qualifications, this is better than the national average of 7.5%.