A NEW venture to tackle problems in the community has opened in Whitehaven.

The Copeland Hub is a joint venture between Cumbria police, Copeland Council, social housing associations and other agencies.

Its aim is to enable people to report issues which will be tackled by agencies working together.

The hub, which opened a couple of weeks ago, is based on the top floor of Whitehaven police station.

An official launch is set to take place next month.

Sgt Mitchell Franks, who is involved in the project, says the hub is in its very early stages.

He said: “The short term aim is to get all the agencies working as one. If you have a problem with noise, licensing, housing or other dispute you can contact the hub. As a group of agencies we will be able to deal with the problem.”

“The aim is for agencies to work together to resolve the problem in a satisfactory and timely manner.”

He said although the hub is based in the police station, the hub is not a police-led initiative. It functions as an equal partnership.

The hub is supported by Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

“We are all working together. We all want to make Copeland a safe and better place to live, said Sgt Franks.

“The long term aim is to be proactive and identity potential issues and deal with them before they become a problem,” said Sgt Franks.

He said the initiative will be value for money and will enable all the agencies to work as one partnership.

“Only when we work as one partnership can we truly benefit the people of Copeland,” he said.

As the hub is still in its early stages, people are advised to contact agencies via the traditional method for now. More details will be revealed in coming weeks.