This past year has been extremely busy and has flown by.

Supporting business has been key these last 12 months. We started by marking Malcolm Wilson’s success at the World Rally Championships by making him a Freeman of the Borough.

Alongside industry, tourism is a crucial industry for us, and our new VisitAllerdale website and brand will go a long way to promote the area. I was so proud to take Allerdale businesses and organisations to the centre of Manchester in August.

We’ve also supported our towns. The Lakesman Triathlon goes from strength to strength and Taste Cumbria had its best year ever, bringing £5m to Cockermouth.

Seeing the England World Cup game on the big screen in Workington was also something not to miss – if the result wasn’t what we wanted.

Supporting the most vulnerable through the Food Bank and other schemes has also been a key priority this year.

And it’s great to see that the leisure centre in Workington is one of the best in the country for usage and satisfaction levels.

Money is tight, but I’m pleased to see that our efforts to transform how we do things, without adversely affecting our services is paying off, with over 70 per cent of you satisfied with our services.

The coming year will be just as busy. We’ve investment plans for Maryport, big ambitions to help business, and of course I hope to see work on our shared stadium start.

So, exciting times are coming.

May I wish you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Alan Smith

Leader of Allerdale Borough Council