MARYPORT Town Council will add its voice to a growing number of citizens concerned that electoral boundary changes will leave them isolated.

Under new goverment proposals, Maryport would be in the same parliamentary constituency as Penrith.

In an emergency meeting last week, councillors said the Boundary Commission has used existing boundaries as building blocks for the proposal but that would be incorrect given that the recent review of local government area boundaries, due to come into effect in 2023, has created two unitary councils: Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furnace Council.

The first is based on the former Allerdale Borough, Carlisle City and Copeland Borough Council boundaries.

"The new boundaries follow a north to south based division, whereas the proposed parliamentary boundaries follow an east to west division, which bares no resemblance to the local government divisions," councillors agreed.

Maryport is much closer to Workington and Whitehaven in terms of shared industrial history and health care provision, and the area has much in common in terms of cultural links and public transport links. 

Cumbria has only a few Registered Social Landlords, who experience great difficulty in trying to fill void properties when offering them in West Cumbria to those on the waiting list from East Cumbria and vice versa, with a very low take-up rate through such transfers.

The lack of family links between the two areas is a strong factor in this case, given the current need for health and childcare support.

The council said West Cumbria experiences a high level of deprivation in a number of wards, with some of the highest deprivation levels in the country being in Maryport.

"This bears no similarity to the east of the county. The West Cumberland Hospital, based in Whitehaven, acts as the main health service provider for the area.

"The Integrated Care Board recently established will link to the two new unitary councils in its planned management of the care challenges in the area, rather than the proposed parliamentary boundary divisions."

The communities of East Cumbria have historically developed around rural farming, and educational provision in that area has reflected that.

Higher educational provision in West Cumbria is available through the Lakes College at Workington and young people from Maryport have historically followed further education through that facility, with minimal travel to East Cumbria.

"It is the council’s view that it is nonsensical to locate Maryport in the proposed ‘Penrith and Solway’ constituency," the council agreed.

"The lack of correlation between the two areas leads the council to the conclusion that the proposed boundaries have been drawn up based primarily on population numbers, rather than commonality.

"The division of Carlisle along the London Road, which makes no sense, supports such a viewpoint." 

A more cohesive arrangement would be achieved by linking Maryport with Workington and Whitehaven, including smaller towns and villages within this area.

Keswick and its surrounding area, would more logically be suited to a fit with the proposed Penrith constituency, given its similarity in features.

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