At its meeting yesterday, (21 April), Westmorland and Furness council's Cabinet approved recommendations for the permanent closure of County Hall and Offices for council services and to formally declare the building surplus to requirements. This follows an earlier decision in June 2024 to close the building for day‑to‑day operations – aside from the archive collection - and move services elsewhere.
Customer services, registrars and ceremonies, council meetings and other public-facing services are delivered from Kendal Town Hall and South Lakeland House. For most residents, the decision means no change to how or where they access services.
Cumbria Archives, a countywide service which is jointly funded and provided by Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, has agreed that Kendal County Hall is no longer suitable for the storage of archive collections.
The council recognises the importance of the county archives to local people, historians and family researchers and to protect the long-term future of the collections, most will be moved into specialist storage designed to keep documents safe for generations to come. Some materials will remain in Cumbria in both Barrow and Carlisle archive centres.
There will be a temporary pause of up to three months in public access while materials are safely relocated after which the public search room will reopen at Kendal Library. There will be further public engagement and consultation in 2026 before longer-term decisions are made about archive services.
The surplus asset approval includes the main building, the front and immediate rear car parks and the adjacent 'visitor' car park inclusive of 155 Stricklandgate. The main pay and display car park to the rear and ancillary land will be retained by the council.
Cabinet agreed to move to a Community Asset Transfer and/or market value sale in line with its Strategic Asset Management Strategy 2024–2029, which emphasises active management of the authority's estate and the release of underutilised assets.
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said the council remained committed to listening carefully to community views, and ensuring decisions deliver value for money services. This includes rationalising the large number of buildings inherited when four councils were brought together to form Westmorland and Furness Council three years ago.
He said: "We know County Hall is part of Kendal's story, and we understand that people will feel strongly about what happens next. We believe it can have a bright and useful future, and also remain an important part of the town's identity and architecture.
"Our responsibility is to deliver for residents now and in the future. With the moving of the archives collection to more appropriate storage and no other identified use for the building, this feels like the right time to move forward on disposal.
"We will continue to listen to local views as we do so."
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
