Overview
Community cohesion means people from different backgrounds living, working and learning alongside each other with mutual respect, a sense of belonging, and shared responsibility for their community.
This information provides an overview of several live issues that are affecting community cohesion in our area and causing community concern.
These issues relate:
- People seeking asylum in our area
- The South Lakes Islamic Prayer Centre
- The “Raise the Flags” campaign
What is community cohesion?
Inclusion is one of Westmorland and Furness Council’s core values. Inclusion means ensuring everyone feels valued, respected, and able to participate fully in community life, regardless of their background, identity, or circumstances. Community cohesion leads to inclusion.
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty councils must act to foster good relations between people from different groups. This means that when community cohesion is threatened, Westmorland and Furness Council has both a moral duty to stand up for its stated values, and a legal duty to actively to promote fairness, inclusion and community cohesion.
Statement from Councillor Helen Chaffey, Cabinet Member for Communities, Customer Services, Culture and Communications:
“Westmorland & Furness is proud to be a caring and inclusive council. Our values commit us to ensuring everyone feels safe, respected and able to thrive, whatever their background.
“We believe in people’s right to express their views, but we must also be clear that racism, Islamophobia and misinformation have no place in our community.
“Community cohesion matters. It means people of different backgrounds living and working alongside each other with mutual respect and shared responsibility. When cohesion is threatened, whether by myths about people seeking asylum, hostility directed at the Islamic Prayer Centre in Dalton, or the misuse of national symbols in attempts to divide rather than unite, we have both a moral duty and a legal duty under the Equality Act to stand up for inclusion and fairness.
“Our communities have a long and proud history of providing safe refuge for those fleeing conflict and persecution — from the post-war welcome of the ‘Windermere Children’, young survivors of Nazi concentration camps, to more recent support for families from the Balkans, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. That tradition continues today, but it is made harder by problems in the national asylum system: delays, lack of clarity, and pressure on local services.
“We need to see improvements that are fair both to people seeking protection and to the communities that welcome them.
“Ultimately, we want Westmorland & Furness to continue to be a place where everyone feels welcome, where disagreements are debated respectfully, and where the focus is on building safe, strong and confident communities.”
People seeking asylum in Westmorland and Furness
Our Position: "We recognise people’s legal right to seek asylum in this country and believe they should be treated with respect and humanity, not subjected to harassment and abuse''
Nationally the issue of people seeking asylum in the UK has been a politically high-profile issue over the summer period. The public debate has been characterised by emotive, sometimes inflammatory and divisive language and widespread misinformation.
There have been examples of this across our area. For Members to be able to respond proactively to support community cohesion it is important to be aware of the facts.
As a council we recognise people’s legal right to seek asylum in this country and will work to ensure they are supported while awaiting the outcome of their asylum application, and afterwards if their claim is successful.
If their claim for asylum is rejected by the Home Office, we will work with the government to ensure people do not remain here.
Definitions – who are we talking about?
- Asylum seeker: Someone who has left their home country, applied for asylum in the UK and is waiting for a decision. They cannot work (except in very limited circumstances after 12 months) and are housed by the Home Office through Serco, not the Council.
- Refugee: Someone whose asylum claim has been accepted. They have the same rights to live, work and access services as any other resident.
- Migrant: Someone who chooses to move country for work, study or family reasons. Legal migrants contribute significantly to the local economy (e.g. NHS, care, hospitality)
Current local picture (Westmorland and Furness)
As of September 2025, 258 people seeking asylum are currently accommodated by the Home Office locally in 63 House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) for single adults and 13 houses for families. The exact number of people changes frequently.- No hotels are currently being used in Westmorland & Furness.
The Council has strengthened capacity with Asylum Officers, a Community Cohesion Officer and extra Housing staff, funded by Home Office grants.
Council’s role
- Work with Serco (who are contracted by the Home Office) and partners to ensure accommodation provided by the Home Office and support is safe and appropriate.
- Provide initial needs assessments for individuals.
Support school-age children with uniform vouchers, stationery and Free School Meals (via Serco funding). - If people seeking asylum receive refugee status from the Home Office, they are eligible for council housing on the same basis as anyone else. They do not receive priority over others on the waiting list.
Promote community cohesion and wellbeing, ensuring integration benefits both asylum seekers and local residents.
Common misconceptions and the facts
- Asylum seekers are not “illegal” – the UK is signed up to the UN Refugee Convention, giving everyone the right to claim asylum.
- They receive very limited financial support – £49 a week if in housing, or £9.95 a week if in hotels – not large daily allowances.
- They cannot claim benefits or social housing while waiting for a decision.
- They cannot choose where they live while their asylum claim is processed; accommodation is allocated by Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
- They cannot work while their claim is processed (except in limited shortage occupations after 12 months).
- They do not get free mobile phones or special access to housing ahead of local residents.
The South Lakes Islamic Prayer Centre
Our Position: "We support people’s right to practise their religion free from harassment and abuse, noting that the Prayer Centre has followed all necessary procedures to gain planning permission''
A planning application for the centre in Dalton was legally and properly approved in December 2022 by the former Barrow Borough Council. The issue has subsequently provided an ongoing focus for misinformation and divisive, sometimes racist and Islamophobic commentary.
The Public Sector Equality Duty requires the council to eliminate discrimination and harassment against those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, these protected characteristics include religious belief.
Having gone through the formal planning system and received all necessary permissions, we fully support the right of the South Lakes Islamic Prayer Centre to operate openly and without fear of harassment or abuse, no different from any other church or place of worship.
Council’s formal planning role
Full committee report with more background
This democratic process included opportunities for comments, objections and representations from stakeholders, including the local community. There were 21 letters of objection received from the community responses and 18 letters of support.
These representations were considered alongside all relevant planning policy. Any material planning matters were considered and balanced in making the decision.
The approved planning application is for a community centre and prayer hall.
It is not in the Lake District National Park, as has been widely and incorrectly reported. Had the site been in the national park it would have been subject to the planning jurisdiction of the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA).
It is also not in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as has also been incorrectly claimed.
The former Borough Council’s role as the statutory planning authority was to determine whether the application aligned with planning policy and to make a decision in accordance with planning rules.
This procedure was followed correctly, democratically and legally, and there are no grounds to rescind this planning application.
“Raise the Flags” campaign
Our Position: "Flying the national flag is a proud tradition we share, and many people do so simply as an expression of pride in our country and its values. The council does the same on its buildings, reflecting values we hold dear: democracy, the rule of law, individual freedom, tolerance and community.
But when extremist groups try to misuse the flag to intimidate or divide, that undermines those very values. Our priority is that everyone in Westmorland & Furness feels safe, welcome and respected, whatever their background''
This summer’s “Raise the Flags” campaign encouraged people to fly the St George’s or Union flag in support of English and British identity.
While many local residents have taken part in good faith as a celebration of identity, extremist organisations have sought to exploit the campaign to create tension and fear. That is not what the flag should stand for.
Context on extremist intent
Evidence shows far-right groups have promoted this campaign in ways that risk:
Provoking conflict – encouraging flags in places where removal by council is likely, to fuel a false narrative that pride in England is not allowed.
Causing anxiety – by exploiting the fact that the flag has sometimes been misused at far-right demonstrations or linked with violent hooliganism.
Marking territory – using flags in public spaces to signal exclusion rather than unity.
Our role as a council
As a council that represents everyone, we must recognise that flags can mean different things to different people in our community: pride and positivity for some, but anxiety or fear for others when misused.
We can celebrate the flag as a symbol of shared values, while being clear in challenging any attempt to use it as a tool of division.
Practical and legal issues
The council has a technical role as Highways Authority around health and safety.
Anyone is free to fly or display flags on their own private property, however it is important that people think about their own safety, and the safety of others, when attaching any flags or any form of signage.
People should also ensure flags or signs do not cause a hazard and are not put up or painted on others’ private property or public buildings without permission.
The Highways Act 1980 states it is an offence to affix items to structures on the highway without the consent of the highway authority without reasonable excuse, and the council will remove any such items.
Section 132 of the Highways Act also states it is an offence for anyone to ‘paint or mark’ the surface of the highway without consent and doing so can result in a person being fined.