West Cumbria Opportunities & Challenges 2025 46 47 COMMUNITIES AT RISK Periods of flooding have affected large swathes of West Cumbria in recent years, causing substantial damage and personal hardship. Storms in 2005, 2009 and most recently in 2015 have caused bridges to collapse, homes to become uninhabitable and livelihoods to be devastated in towns such as Cockermouth, Keswick and Workington.43 Climate change is already having a global impact with two major issues affecting West Cumbria: shifting rainfall patterns and rising sea levels.44 All of the UK’s ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2002 and since 1998, six of the ten wettest years have been recorded. The winter storms that struck West Cumbria in 2015 were identified as being 40% more likely because of climate change, with two of the main climate impacts being localised flooding and coastal flooding.45 Cumberland Council’s Climate and Nature Strategy (2024)46 highlights that addressing the climate emergency and building environmental resilience is a collective societal challenge. The strategy identifies key risks for the area, including: • combined events affecting infrastructure services, energy, transport, water and communications. • amplified inequalities, particularly affecting disadvantaged groups. • increased severity, frequency and variability of flooding (fluvial, coastal and surface water) along with a heightened risk of coastal erosion, threatening coastal communities and businesses. • greater pollution of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coastal waters. VCSE organisations across West Cumbria are not just responding to the challenges presented by flooding and climate change. Rather they are actively working to build community resilience, promote environmental best practices, reduce carbon footprints, raise awareness of issues like global warming, and support initiatives that mitigate the negative effects of climate change while fostering sustainability. By way of example Cockermouth Emergency Response Group has enhanced community preparedness for future flooding and provided vital support to isolated people during the pandemic. Cumbria Action for Sustainability offers advice on energy-efficient home heating, recycling, and supporting local, seasonal purchasing. Likewise, the West Cumbria Rivers Trust provides educational activities, advocacy, and habitat improvements to benefit local rivers such as the Derwent, Cocker, and Calder. The Rebuild Site CIC is advancing the adoption of Circular Economy practices within the UK construction industry. SPORT, CULTURE AND ARTS There are multiple opportunities across West Cumbria for informal and formal sports participation. Rugby league is an extremely popular sport, with teams including Workington Town and Whitehaven and rugby union is also keenly contested in Wigton, Aspatria, Keswick and Cockermouth. The infamous Uppies and Downies in Workington brings communities together in a mass football extravaganza and opportunities for adventure sports including the Lakesman Triathlon and fell running competitions showcase the best of West Cumbrian’s natural environment, with Keswick being a prominent visitor destination for outdoor activities. Recent programmes of place-based investment led by Active Cumbria are providing opportunities for those who face challenges to engage in physical activity due to deprivation, gender, ethnicity in Maryport, Workington and Whitehaven. West Cumbria offers exciting opportunities for residents and visitors alike to engage in arts and cultural activities including Theatre by the Lake in Keswick; Rosehill Theatre in Whitehaven; the Carnegie Theatre and Arts Centre in Workington; the Florence Arts Centre in Egremont; Beggar’s Theatre in Millom; John Peel Theatre in Wigton; and Kirkgate Arts and Heritage in Cockermouth, along with their touring arm ‘Arts out West.’ Museums such as the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, Wordsworth House in Cockermouth (the birthplace of William Wordsworth and the only National Trust property in West Cumbria) and the Senhouse Roman Museum in Maryport also celebrate the rich history of the area and provide important educational resources for local people. Shipping Brow Gallery in Maryport is a new gallery which opened in 2023 and as part of the Town Deal for Millom there are plans to develop an Arts and Enterprise centre. There are also many attractions celebrating West Cumbria’s history, heritage and wildlife including the 'La’al Ratty' Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and Muncaster Castle, Gardens and Hawk and Owl Centre, winner of both Cumbrian and national tourism awards. West Cumbria is also gaining a growing reputation for exciting festivals and events including Maryport, Cockermouth and Wigton food festivals, and the Solfest music festival. Agricultural shows such as those that take place in Cockermouth and Ennerdale bring rural and farming communities together and also attract tourists. VCSE organisations across West Cumbria are not just responding to the challenges presented by flooding and climate change. Rather they are actively working to build community resilience, promote environmental best practices, reduce carbon footprints, raise awareness of issues like global warming, and support initiatives that mitigate the negative effects of climate change while fostering sustainability. 43 Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund Report 2015 https://www.cumbriafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/20pp-A4-Flood-Recovery-lr.pdf 44 Communities can access data regarding their localities via two useful on-line tools: https://check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk/postcode ; and https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp 45 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change 46 https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/your-environment/climate-change-and-natural-environment 46 West Cumbria Opportunities & Challenges 2025
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