Cumbria County Council renews legal fight over shake-up

Opponents of the council rejig believe it is politically motivated

Efforts to prevent local government reorganisation in Cumbria are to continue despite a High Court decision not to grant legal action.

Cumbria County Council failed in its bid for a judicial review of UK government plans to replace the current system with two unitary councils.

Council leader Stewart Young said he felt the east-west split benefited the agenda of the Conservative government.

The council has now moved to renew its application for a judicial review.

Its contention that the government had not consulted properly and its decision to abolish Cumbria's existing county council and six district councils was "unlawfully" made was "not reasonably arguable", High Court Judge Stephen Davies previously ruled.

• Cumbria County Council legal action over shake-up fails

But Mr Young said this was "part of the normal process of a judicial review" and the council had until 16:30 GMT on Monday to lodge an application, which it has done, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"I think we have a duty to pursue this, given that the councils have been told it is going to cost £19m just to draw up plans as to how this can be done, plans which should have been drawn up before the proposal was put forward.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the savings which [Copeland mayor] Mike Starkie and [Allerdale leader] Mike Johnson said would be achieved as a result of splitting the county in two will prove to be illusory."

'Absolutely staggered'

Mr Starkie, a co-author of the two council split, said: "Given the emphatic nature of the rejection of the first ill-founded venture into court, I'm absolutely staggered that they're going to incur further costs to the taxpayer. He should accept when he's beat."

The county was ordered to pay the Secretary of State's legal costs of £15,223.41 and the £7,500 costs of each western council and eastern council when the High Court rejected its initial legal challenge.

Workington MP Mark Jenkinson said: "Once again Labour, supported by the Lib Dems, set off on a waste of huge sums of cash, taken from hard-pressed council taxpayers - hot on the heels of that wasted in the judicial review and the £25m wasted on the Amey case."

The shake-up will see six district councils grouped into two unitary authorities