To coincide with National Volunteers’ Week (1 - 7 June), we are encouraging residents to sign up for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support the Grand Départs of the Tour de France during summer 2027.
Around 9,000 volunteers will be recruited across Scotland, England and Wales to support the delivery of the event. Known as ‘JOY Makers’, volunteers will help welcome spectators, support event operations and contribute to the smooth running of all six stages.
Cumberland is set to take centre stage when the Grand Départs arrives in Summer 2027. Carlisle will host the finish of Stage One on Friday 2 July, as riders travel from the race’s opening in Edinburgh, while Keswick will host the start of Stage Two on Saturday 3 July. The route will then travel through the Lake District, giving local communities a unique opportunity to be part of this globally recognised event.
Volunteering roles will be available across both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with opportunities suited to a wide range of interests. National Volunteers’ Week provides a timely reminder of the value of volunteering and the positive impact it can have, both for individuals and for communities.
Anyone aged 16 and over can apply, with no previous experience required. Full training will be provided, and volunteers will have the chance to develop new skills and be part of this huge international sporting event.
Applications are now open for anyone interested in getting involved, with opportunities available across all six stages of the event. Registrations opened on Wednesday 27 May and will remain open until Tuesday 1 September 2026.
Up-and-coming athletes in Cumberland are being given the chance to take their sporting careers to the next level with Everyone Active's Sporting Champions scheme.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the renowned programme empowers aspiring athletes to achieve their full potential through access to state-of-the-art training facilities and invaluable mentoring support from Olympians and Paralympians.
Since its inception, Sporting Champions has elevated the careers of more than 6,000 athletes by providing them with free access to Everyone Active's 250 leisure centres nationwide.
After Everyone Active became the new operator of Cumberland Council’s West Cumbrian leisure facilities on 1 April, the scheme now includes Workington Leisure Centre, Cockermouth Leisure Centre, Whitehaven Sports Centre, Copeland Swimming Pool, Cleator Moor Activity Centre (currently under redevelopment works), Keswick Leisure Centre and Maryport Activity Centre, run in partnership with Cumberland Council. A leisure centre in Millom is under construction.
New for 2026, athletes over 16 will receive access to the You+ membership, designed to promote holistic health and wellbeing and centred around individual needs.
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One year on since the all-weather 3G pitch was installed, we got to see how the pitch is being put into use.
On the build-up to the start of the World Cup next week, Andrew Marshall, AM Play Football Coaching - and some budding footballers - spoke about what they thought of the newly refurbished facility.
The 3G pitch was installed as part of the Millom Leisure Centre works.
Also known as Activating Community Health, it is one of four projects that make up the Millom Town Deal which secured £20.6m from the UK Government’s Town’s Fund alongside match funding.
The Copeland Community Fund has provided £1 million towards the project and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has provided a £3.1 million grant, as part of its investment in supporting permanent and sustainable change in Millom and all its site communities. Funding has also been provided by South Copeland GDF Community Partnership, CGP, Millom School and Millom Town Council.
The project, which is due to be completed by the end of this year, includes a swimming pool, sports hall and fitness studios.
Photo and video credit: Stuart Walker
A special pop‑up event celebrating life in Whitehaven during the nineties will take place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June at the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, offering a final nostalgic flourish ahead of the end of the popular I Grew Up 90s exhibition.
This Pop Up event has been created as a last chance to celebrate the decade before I Grew Up 90s closes on 21 June, while also turning the spotlight closer to home. This pop‑up exhibition focuses on what everyday life was really like in Whitehaven and the surrounding areas during the decade.
Drawing on photographs from the Whitehaven News archives, the pop-up exhibition brings together a collection of images that offer a glimpse into everyday life in Whitehaven during the decade, capturing familiar places, events and moments that many in the community will recognise and remember.
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We often get asked: “Does the glass we collect really get recycled?” To which the answer is: “Yes, it does.”
Take a look behind the scenes at our Material Recycling Facility to see how it’s sorted and sent on to be reused.
100% of glass sent to our MRF is recycled.
Work is due to begin on essential carriageway resurfacing works on the A689 Linstock Roundabout, Carlisle.
The works will begin on Sunday 7 June 2026 and are expected to take approximately six nights to complete, subject to weather conditions and site requirements.
To ensure the safety of both the workforce and the travelling public, the works will be carried out under night-time road closures, with a signed diversion route clearly in place throughout the duration of the scheme.
Closures will be in place between 7pm and 6am each night.
The ECO4 Flex scheme has supported hundreds of households across Cumberland to improve their homes, reduce energy bills and cut carbon emissions.
Between May 2024 and March 2026, 694 applications were received and 486 homes benefited from energy efficiency improvements. In total, 1,498 measures were installed, including insulation, heating upgrades and solar panels.
The scheme helped 90% of supported homes reach an EPC rating of C or above, with average energy bill savings of around £1,460 per year per household and significant carbon reductions. Around £9.1 million of external funding was secured to deliver improvements.
Work is now continuing through the Warm Homes Local Grant and wider plans to support residents with energy efficiency.
Find out more about housing warm homes grants at: Warm homes | Cumberland Council
Carers Week (8 -14 June 2026) begins on Monday, and will open with the launch of the new Carers Charter, celebrating and recognising the vital role of unpaid carers across Cumberland.
The new Charter sets out how unpaid carers are recognised, listened to and supported throughout their caring journey, reinforcing their role as essential partners in care.
Built around the principles of Recognise, Learn and Collaborate, it strengthens how we work alongside carers, families and partner organisations, and will continue to develop through feedback and lived experience.
Cllr Lisa Hinton, Executive Member for Adult Social Care, will meet members of the Cumberland Carers Forum on Monday to thank them for their vital role in co-producing the Charter and ensuring carers’ voices have been central throughout its development.
Carlisle Music Centre helps young people enjoy making music in a friendly and supportive setting.
Weekly groups are available for young musicians of all abilities, from beginners to more experienced players. Sessions include wind band, string ensembles, guitar and concert band, and are led by expert tutors from Cumberland Music Service. Young people can build confidence, improve their music reading and develop their ensemble skills while having fun.
Membership costs £54, with discounts available for siblings.
Cumberland’s library service has launched a consultation on a revised set of byelaws. The byelaws exist to set clear, legally enforceable rules that protect library users, staff, and property, while ensuring libraries remain safe, welcoming spaces for everyone to access information and services fairly.
The byelaws have been updated to reflect changes in service and technology.
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