South Lakeland District Council
South Lakeland is situated in the middle of Cumbria and encompasses a vast section of the beautiful southern Lake District – one of Britain’s most spectacular and most visited tourism destinations.
South Lakeland District Council or SLDC was formed after local government reorganisation in 1974 and its vision is to make the district the best place to live, work and visit.
The council’s headquarters are situated in the attractive market town of Kendal on the banks of the River Kent and on the doorstep of not one but two glorious national parks - the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales.
The Liberal Democrat-controlled authority also has offices in the bustling market town of Ulverston which is on the fringe of the scenic Cumbrian coastline and the vast Morecambe Bay.
South Lakeland itself covers a total area of 600 square miles of pretty villages, lakes, rivers, mountains, and includes some of Cumbria’s most attractive towns like Arnside, Bowness-on-Windermere, Broughton-in-Furness, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Grange-over-Sands, Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh.
As a popular tourism area it attracts in the region of eight million visitors a year wanting to enjoy the Lake District for outdoor pursuits like walking, cycling, climbing, sailing and canoeing as well as being home to many well-established restaurants, shops, country pubs, cinemas and some of England’s leading tourist attractions, hotels, B&Bs and self-catering cottages.
South Lakeland District Council employs around 450 people and the district itself has a population of 102,000 which is boosted during the tourism season by domestic and international visitors. The council sets an annual budget of around £14.6 million every year.
The council’s vision is: “By involving people and creating opportunities we will make South Lakeland the best place to live, work and visit,”
Its three key values are:
- Valuing people
- Excellence
- Openess
The council’s priorities in alphabetical order are:
- Healthy communuities
- Housing to meet local need
- Prosperous communities
- Safer, greener, cleaner and Stronger communities
Only recently South Lakeland launched a major new initiative to transform how the council performs and delivers services over the next three years.
Called The Transformation Programme – Changing Tomorrow Today – it aims to ensure that SLDC provides better services to the public in future by working more effectively face-to-face and behind-the-scenes.
The vision of the strategy is:
“We will transform our services for our citizens, for businesses, for our members and staff, which will provide a better future for all our communities.”
The Audit Commission recently told South Lakeland District Council it is performing better than many other councils across the country with the council having achieved “well above the average rate,” in measurements to improve services.
The district has a total of 45 wards and 51 councillors.
Other fast facts about South Lakeland include:
- 27 per cent of the population is aged over 60 compared to the national average of 21 per cent
- The average age is 43 compared to 39 in the rest of England and Wales
- 18.6 per cent of the population here are retired compared to 13.6 per cent nationally
- The district has low numbers of resident ethnic minority groups although this is increased by visitors to the area
- It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country – just 1.1 per cent in January 2004, although research shows the true level of unemployment is around 5.4 per cent
South Lakeland offers a downloadable pdf career information pack online at http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=2360 (Link open in new window)
Use the links below to view Vacancies and also to visit this Councils website
