4/8/2004 - Cumbria county council pledges support for KORBR

Cumbria County Council chairman Jim Webster has today written to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon urging him not to disband or merge the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment (KORBR). The letter follows the county council meeting on Thursday last week, which unanimously passed a motion to support the regiment.

The county council chairman is seeking firm assurances from the Defence Secretary that the regiment will continue as a separate regiment with its own distinct local identity.

He said: "The regiment is the only army presence in the area and provides a focus for the community. 

"The possibility that it will disappear has evoked strong feelings in our community. Civic leaders and the local media have joined together to make a compelling case for the regiment to be kept."

County council leader Rex Toft has separately written to Colonel Strickland at the KORBR thanking him for speaking at last week’s county council meeting and pledging the council’s support for the regiment.

He said: "There is immense pride in Cumbria for the history and tradition of KORBR. It is a real tribute to the regiment that there has been such a groundswell of support right across the county. We will do whatever we can to keep the regiment."