Local government Minister, Phil Woolas announced on 27 March that Cumbria County Council's proposal was one of 16 to go forward for consultation with stakeholders, a process which ends on 22 June 2007, with final announcements being made on any new unitary authorities in July. The Government envisages that any new unitary authorities will be operational by April 2009. Eden is consulting on its response to the Unitary Consultation. Eden's Members voted in agreement with a report by the authority's Management Team to take forward the recommendations listed below: • Direct consultation with the public through a poll; which may be undertaken by Electoral Reform Services; • To seek leading Counsel's opinion and advice upon a judicial review of the Secretary of State's decision; • To convene a seminar on 24 May to consider how the Council may wish to respond to the consultation; • To invite the Cumbria County Council and the Better government for Cumbria Working Group to make presentations at the seminar; • To hold a Special Council on 14 June to finalise the Council's response to the Government's consultation; • To inform all Parish Councils and Eden's key stakeholders of the consultation process and how to make their views known to the Secretary of State; • To support the judicial review proposed by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council on the basis that the Secretary of State has no power to initiate the consultation.
The Council is concerned at the haste with which the Secretary of State and the County seeks to establish the new authority and the lack of consultation by both with the residents of Eden. The council is therefore working to ensure residents can make their views known in a number of different ways.
Results of the consultation processes will feed into the council's response to the Unitary Consultation.
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