CARLISLE IN PROFILE: OPPORTUNITIES CARLISLE IN PROFILE: CHALLENGES Diverse and strong economy: Carlisle generates a 1/4 of Cumbria’s economic output, £2.83bn Gross Added Value a growing university and the new Pears Cumbria School of Medicine An ambitious educational sector, with capacity to grow its population and economy on an environmentally sustainable footprint A compact city, Borderlands, St Cuthberts Garden Village, Southern Link Road, Carlisle Station, the Citadel, Kingmoor Park Enterprise Zone Major investment providing foundations for future prosperity: Affordable housing: average house prices in Carlisle are low, at £165,761 A town council for Carlisle: a call to provide a voice and focus for the city A place of positive ideas, contributors speak with energy and imagination about how Carlisle could be improved Well connected by road and rail, traffic can flow well, increasingly cycle friendly and London is just over 3 hours by train Devolution: a Cumbrian Mayor should lobby for funds for Carlisle and the issues identified in this report A city with rich Roman and Border heritage that underpins tourism, £715m into the local economy, nearly 8 million visitors per annum and over 7,000 employees A skilled and willing workforce, Cumberland has a higherthan-average progression into apprenticeships and workers have a positive attitude and approach Ready access to parks and the countryside for exercise and peace: Two World Heritage landscapes; the English Lake District and Hadrian’s Wall nearby Good schools: 92% of primary and 50% of secondary schools rated as Good. A welcoming and safe city with a strong sense of community and pride in place. Nearly 1 in 5 named “feeling safe in my neighbourhood” as one of the top three things about living here. A place refugees choose to call home A rich and diverse community sector, with 323 constituted voluntary and community organisations contributing widely to the quality of community life and volunteering opportunities Poverty fundamentally impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. The lowest Gross Domestic Household income of anywhere in Cumbria at £17,724, only 81.8% of the UK average. Planned benefit changes will increase the number of people in poverty Mental health crisis: more than 40,000 people, or 18% of the adult population, have depression, over 1/3 higher than the England average Suicide: Cumberland has the 4th highest rate of all local authorities in England for the number of lives lost to suicide Obesity: almost a 1/3 of adults in Cumberland are obese. Almost a 1/4 of children in Reception and a 1/3 of children in Year 6 are overweight or obese An ageing population and workforce: 21.71% were aged 65 in 2021 and the proportion of older people is growing fast Life expectancy varied by 7.2 years for women and 8.9 years for men between the highest and lowest wards Voluntary and Community Sector under extreme pressure caused by reduction in funding and rapidly growing demand for services A bigger city offer: people want ‘more and better’ shops, more nightlife and more arts and culture Gaps in youth provision especially in Longtown, Belle Vue, Morton, Denton Holme and Yewdale Climate change: high flood risk in particular communities Deep rural communities: life can be very hard in the remote rural areas of borderland Carlisle with high energy and travel costs, long travel times to services and lower incomes Democratic deficit: no town council means Carlisle misses out on a local democratic voice Intolerance: people in Carlisle have experienced attacks motivated by race, sexuality and gender-identity hatred Gambling and debt: in 2024, Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden supported 593 people with 3,072 debt issues Drug related deaths: deaths related to drug poisoning, including drug misuse are nearly 3 times the national rate Limited employment opportunities: low skilled, low paid work which limits career progression and attractiveness to families considering relocation to the area Carlisle: Opportunities & Challenges 2025 6 7
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