Allerdale is a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, with borough status. Its council is based in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census. The Borough of Allerdale was formed under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, the urban districts of

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, historically in Cumberland. The town is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, at the northern end of the former Cumberland Coalfield. Locatio ...

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

and Keswick; and the

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

s of

and

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells an ...

, all of which were within the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. In 1995 Allerdale was granted borough status. The name derives from the ancient region of Allerdale, represented latterly by the two

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, called Allerdale-above-Derwent and Allerdale-below-Derwent, the present borough corresponding largely to the latter with parts of the former. Much of the area during the medieval period was a

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

subject to forest law. In July 2021 the

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United King ...

announced that in April 2023, Cumbria will be reorganised into two

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Allerdale Borough Council is to be abolished and its functions transferred to a new authority, to be known as

, which will cover the current districts of Allerdale,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, and Copeland.

Settlements

Workington is the largest settlement in the borough, and is the seat of the borough council. Allerdale House in Workington is the meeting place and primary office space used by the council. The building is known locally as "Perry's Palace" after former council chief executive Tony Perry, who was responsible for its construction. Other settlements in the borough include:

Abbeytown Abbeytown, also known as Holme Abbey, is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The name Abbeytown dates to the mid-17th century (''The Towne of the Abbey'', ''Abbey Towne''; ''Abbeytown'' from mid-18th centur ...

, Allonby, Aspatria, Bolton Low Houses, Bothel, Brigham, Broughton,

Great Clifton Great Clifton is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in the English county of Cumbria. In the 2001 census, it has a population of 1,101, increasing slightly to 1,114 at the 2011 Census. Location Workington is west of the v ...

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Dearham Dearham is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale district of Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, near the Lake District National Park in England. It lies about east of Maryport and west of Cockermouth. According to the 2001 censu ...

Fletchertown Fletchertown is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It was historically within Cumberland. The village was originally built to house workers in a nearby coal mine, since abandoned. The site of the mine and its spoil ...

Flimby Flimby is an English coastal village and former civil parish in the Allerdale district in Cumbria. It was Historic counties of England, historically in Cumberland. It currently forms part of the parish of Maryport and the Flimby ward of Allerdal ...

, Ireby, Keswick, Kirkbride,

Mawbray Mawbray is a village in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland. It is located on the Solway Plain, south west of Silloth, north of Maryport, and west of Carlisle. T ...

Plumbland Plumbland is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale district in the county of Cumbria, England. Situated towards the north west corner of the county, it is two miles from the outskirts of the Lake District National Park which is considere ...

, Seaton,

Silloth Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of Engl ...

Tallentire Tallentire is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bridekirk, in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It is about north of Cockermouth. The village is located just outside the Lake District National Park. In 1931 the ...

Thursby Thursby is a village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It is near to the city of Carlisle in North West England. Thursby was historically part of Cumberland. History Thursby lies on an old Roman road, 6 miles south of Carlisle. ...

, Waverton, Westnewton, and

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Allerdale.

Individuals

* Malcolm Wilson: 28 March 2018. * Ben Stokes: 25 September 2019.

Politics

Elections to the borough council are held every four years with 49

councillors A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

being elected from 23

. No party has had a majority on the council since

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

lost their majority at the 2003 election. As of the 2019 election, the council is jointly administered by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and independents. Since March 2021 the

leader of the council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

has been Mark Johnson, a Conservative.

Derwent 7 parishes

The Derwent 7 Community Led Planning Group was set up in 2007 by the town and parish councils of

Above Derwent Above Derwent is a civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies entirely within the Lake District National Park. At the 2011 Census the parish had a population of 1,198 in 514 households, ''Includes map showing paris ...

Bassenthwaite Bassenthwaite is a village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, within the Lake District National Park, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 412, increasing to 481 ...

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' t ...

, Keswick, St John's, Castlerigg and Wythburn,

Threlkeld Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the nort ...

and

Underskiddaw Underskiddaw is a civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in the English county of Cumbria. The parish lies immediately to the north of the town of Keswick, and includes the southern and eastern flanks of Skiddaw as well as part of the vall ...

, with funding from Allerdale Borough Council, and was still in existence in 2017. It had four subgroups including one on transport, and a co-ordinating "Cluster group".
The term "Derwent Seven Parishes" is used in defining the collecting scope of Keswick Museum, as Keswick is at the heart of the area covered by these parishes. A map illustrating the area of the parishes is included in an appendix to a document produced by Sustainable Keswick.

Map

References

{{authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Cumbria English royal forests 1974 establishments in England Boroughs in England