MAYORAL REGALIA – REQUEST FROM WHITEHAVEN TOWN COUNCIL

POLITICAL LEAD: Councillor David Moore LEAD OFFICER & REPORT Lindsay Tomlinson, Democratic Services Manager & AUTHOR: Monitoring Officer

Why has this report come to the Council? For Council to consider a request from Whitehaven Town Council to transfer to them the ownership of the Mayoral chain of office, the Council mace and the Mayoral robes.

Recommendation: That no action be taken at present and that Whitehaven Town Council be asked to resubmit their request at such time as they decide to have a mayor of Whitehaven.

1. MAYORAL REGALIA - BACKGROUND 1.1 On 11 May 2015 the first directly elected Mayor of Copeland took office. Council had in February and April 2015 agreed various amendments to its Constitution that needed to be in place for the move to the elected mayor model of governance. One of these amendment was the change of title of the former Mayor of the borough to Chairman of Council. It was agreed that the Chairman would continue to carry out the duties of the former mayoral role, chairing the meetings of council and undertaking civic duties on behalf of the council.

1.2 In acknowledgement of the more modern governance arrangements, Council at its annual meeting on 1 June 2015 resolved to cease the wearing of the mayoral chains and robe. Instead the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Mayor and Deputy Mayor were presented with badges of office to wear when on official duties. The council mace was to be retained for use at council meetings. It was agreed to loan the civic regalia to the Beacon Museum to form part of the Copeland Collection. The council mace is included in the Copeland Collection but is returned to the council for display during its meetings.

2 WHITEHAVEN TOWN COUNCIL

2.1 On 1 April 2015 the new Whitehaven Town Council came into existence and its councillors took office on 11 May 2015. As part of the Reorganisation Order the Borough Council gifted to the new Council the Whitehaven jewel which was valued at £35,000.

2.2 In September 2015 a letter was received from the Town Council setting out its belief that the mayoral chain of office, mayoral robes and the mace, having originally belonged to the former Municipal Borough of Whitehaven should by rights be returned to the people of Whitehaven and requesting that Copeland Borough Council hand the regalia over to the Town Council.

3 OWNERSHIP STATUS

3.1 Before local government reorganisation in 1974 there existed in Copeland two rural district councils (Ennerdale Rural District Council and Millom Rural District Council) and the Borough of Whitehaven. Reorganisation saw the abolition of these three authorities and the creation of Copeland Borough Council.

3.2 The transfer of property, both real and personal, was dealt with by the Local Authorities (England) (Property etc.) Order 1973. Whilst not expressly transferring regalia from the former councils to the new councils it did provide for a residuary transfer of property in respect of items not specifically mentioned in the Order (article 16 and schedule 4 of the Order). Copeland Borough Council therefore became the owner of the regalia. Some might argue that the regalia is a 'privilege or right' and that, as such, by section 246 of the Local Government Act 1972 was transferred to the inhabitants of a borough which was not replaced by a new parish council. It is not convincing that regalia can be such a privilege or right and or that section 246 applies in this case. Even if it did apply it only means that this Council owns the regalia on behalf of the people of Whitehaven. There would be no requirement to transfer the regalia to any new parish council created post- 1974. It is the legal view that the regalia belongs to this Council.

3.3 CBC as owner of the regalia is responsible for its insurance. The property in question is currently valued as follows for insurance purposes: Mayoral Chain £75,000 Council Mace £38,000

4. OPTIONS

4.1 The council has three options available; (a) Refuse the request and allow the regalia to remain on display at the Beacon Museum

(b) Agree to transfer ownership of some or all of the regalia to the Town Council

(c) Offer an agreement whereby the Town Council could have the use of some or all of the regalia but with ownership being retained by Copeland Borough Council.

4.2 Whitehaven Town Council does not currently have a mayor and until such time as it resolves to create such a role then the regalia would not be used by the Town Council. The regalia is currently on display for the whole of Copeland and is in a secure environment. Council may therefore feel it would be more appropriate for the Town Council to reconsider the matter of the regalia at such time as it resolves to create a mayor.

5. IMPLICATIONS

5.1 There are obviously some financial implications with the loss of a valuable asset. In the event of a loan agreement then the insurance aspects will need to be carefully managed and there will be an impact on the operational management of the Copeland Collection and the staff at the Beacon Museum if regalia is regularly removed and returned.

5.2 There may well be a perception by the remainder of the Copeland Borough Council area that the regalia belongs to the whole of Copeland and not just to Whitehaven. The current arrangement with the Beacon Museum ensures that all residents of the Borough are able to view the regalia.

Consultees: Corporate Leadership Team; Section 151 Officer

Monitoring Officer comments: Included in report S151 Officer comments: Financial aspects included in the report EIA comments: The Beacon Museum is fully accessible and ensures access through its outreach activities to ensure regalia is available for all residents of the borough to view when on public display.