I had hoped to start this week’s column by celebrating the news of West Cumbria Mining being issued their permits, thereby allowing the long-awaited development at Woodhouse Colliery to commence.

Inexplicably, Cumbria County Council has sent this back to the planning committee for a fourth time – adding more cost and unnecessary delay.

The Government – on two occasions – has refused to bow to pressure from opposition parties and pressure groups and declined to intervene to stop the mine, despite the protestations of Ed Miliband, Anneliese Dodds, Tim Farron and others – and stated, quite correctly, that this is a local decision.

I have every confidence that the planning panel will once again give a positive determination, as there have not been any material changes since they gave their approval last October, so I hope the leadership at Cumbria County Council can get their act together and hold this meeting as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, I will be presenting my sixth budget to council and, once again, I am delighted to report that for the sixth consecutive year, there will be no cuts to services. We will once again – for the sixth year running – keep our share of council tax below the Government’s 2% inflation target. Our council tax increase of 1.95% is among the lowest in the UK and lower than any other council in Cumbria. Car parking charges will be frozen and other fees and charges will be pegged at the rate of inflation or cost recovery.

We will also be putting an additional £600k in the budget to support our waste and recycling services which have come under increased pressure, with a massive increase in the volume collected.

We will not be introducing any charges for replacement bins and will not be introducing any charges for green waste collection which, as we are now beginning to emerge from the Covid pressures, will return to the two-weekly collection cycle when the service resumes next month.

We are very much taking into account the financial pressures many residents have faced and are presenting a budget consistent to the previous five as we maintain and improve services while, in real terms, holding down or reducing costs for our residents. We have achieved this by completely restructuring the council and replacing expensive consultants with full-time employees, thus delivering greater efficiency, continuity, consistency and improved outcomes and by working closely with Government and partners to secure funding from as many routes as possible.

Since 2015, we have acquired over £6m worth of assets and are increasingly going to benefit from the income those assets will deliver.

The Government has this week announced a public consultation into local government reform in Cumbria. I urge all readers to visitcopeland.gov.uk to view our two-unitary proposals. I believe our model is the option that will deliver the future we deserve, and I encourage our community to respond to make your voices heard.

And as I write, the Prime Minister is delivering the roadmap out of lockdown and I look forward with optimism to better times ahead – particularly for people of West Cumbria.