BELEAGURED Cumbria County Council has at least one jewel in its crown of services that seems to attract universal support from those it is trying to help.

Attacked over rates rises, social services, highways, staff relations and just about everything else it has a hand in, the county can at least crow about the success of Made in Cumbria.

So what does it try to do? Get rid of it, of course.

That was certainly the impression that had been picked up by the more than 500 members, mostly small craft and food businesses.

They were horrified by the move, which seemed to be a done deal, to switch the organisation to the control of the Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency.

For the users, county council controlled Made in Cumbria had always seemed to offer just the sort of advice, moral and practical support needed to get a business off the ground.

They fear the new agency would be too bureaucratic and too keen on business plans and cash-flow projections, so stifling the entrepreneurial spirit.

These fears came pouring out at a public meeting in Kendal this week, and it certainly looks as if the county is willing to listen. They now claim that the meetings were purely exploratory and no decisions have yet been taken.

Officials must have come away with the absolute certainty that the hand-over needed a rethink.

However in the long term, those wanting to keep things as they are seem destined to be disappointed. Most of Made in Cumbria's support money comes from Government, Europe and the North West Development Agency. For very good reasons this leads to a reliance on auditing and scrutiny. Auditors have already expressed concern at the relationship between Made in Cumbria and its trading arm.

New constraints seem certain to be implemented anyway. And then of course there is always the possibility that Cumbria County Council will no longer exist in a couple of years' time. The purse-strings would then be held by the North West Regional Assembly, essentially the development agency given democratic legitimacy. Such ventures would then almost certainly be channelled by the rural enterprise agency.

Perhaps it would be better if that happened sooner than later. What needs to happen first, however, is that proper consultation be conducted with members of Made in Cumbria and reassurances given that the new organisation will not strangle embryonic businesses with unnecessary red tape.

Funds fillip

IT MUST have been a tremendous fillip for campaigners trying to raise £2.8 million to save the Holehird home for disabled people when an anonymously donated cheque for half a million pounds dropped on the doormat. The prospect of raising the necessary funds was a daunting one. Every little bit helps and if the target is going to be reached, it needs as many people as possible to give whatever they can. But for such a large chunk to arrive in one fell swoop was the best possible start.