CUMBRIA'S business community appears to be divided over whether the county should have a single unitary authority under the proposed shake-up of local government.

The independently-run web site, Regeneratecumbria.com, invited visitors to give their views on the issue, but the results were far from conclusive.

While 32.6 per cent of respondents favoured the idea of creating a single council for Cumbria, a further 30.1 per cent were against the proposal, and the remainder either felt they were not in a position to make a choice, or wanted other options to be considered.

The vast majority of people taking part in the survey were aged between 25 and 65. South Lakeland and Eden attracted the highest number of respondents, with Barrow having the lowest.

Regeneratecumbria.com has posted the survey results on its site, and included the comments made by each respondent, although they have not been individually named.

For full story see the February 9 edition of The Westmorland Gazette.