The decision to move Kendal Town FC into a new league has been branded as 'unacceptable' by the local MP.

Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, came out in support of the football club after it was announced by the Football Association (FA) that they would be in Northern League Division One from next season.

Read more: Kendal Town hit out at being moved into Northern League | The Westmorland Gazette

Mr Farron wrote to the Chief Executive of the FA Mark Bullingham, urging him to scrap the 'shock' decision.

He said: The decision to move Kendal Town FC to the Northern League shows zero understanding of the geography of Cumbria, the heritage and status of the club, and will be hugely damaging.

“I am extremely concerned that this move puts the future of the club at great risk by putting the club under extreme financial pressure while also moving it outside of its regional network."

Kendal have been playing in the North West Counties League and expected to be doing the same for the 2024/25 season.

But, on Friday May 17, the club revealed that they had been moved laterally to the new division with 'no prior warning', a league which is dominated by sides based in the North East.

Mr Farron added: "While Penrith and Carlisle benefit from major East/West routes, Kendal does not and will be left with significantly longer journey times with the team set to travel upwards of a hundred miles in each direction for most away games.

"Additionally, the decision to move KTFC was made with no notice at all and with just one working day to notify of an intention to appeal - this is unacceptable and I demand that this decision be reversed immediately.”

The club has already announced that it is in the process of submitting an appeal following a committee meeting on Friday.

They were said to be 'hopeful of a fair hearing' as they challenged the FA on the decision.

They are keen to remain in their current league, where the majority of their opponents are from the Manchester and Lancashire areas, with fears that they will lose out on players due to the geographical shift

The FA have issued a comment in response and a spokesperson said: "We make every effort each season to allocate National League System [NLS] clubs to the most geographically suitable league possible.

"The clubs are allocated to a league based on the step in the NLS that they will be playing in, and their location in the country.

"These allocations are subject to appeals and any amendments to these will be confirmed in due course."

Along with Carlisle City and Penrith, the Northern League Division One includes north east sides Birtley Town, Blyth Town, Boro Rangers, Crook Town, Easington Colliery, Guisborough Town, Marske United, Newcastle Benfield, Newcastle Blue Star, North Shields, Northallerton Town, Redcar Athletic, Seaham Red Star, Shildon, Tow Law Town, West Allotment Celtic, West Auckland Town, Whickham, and Whitley Bay.

League chairman Glenn Youngman said: “We’re delighted to welcome the new teams to our league and I’m sure they’ll be given a warm welcome by our current clubs.”