Thursday 18 October 2012

Why are we called anything but Redcar?

I cannot believe the stupidity of calling the new health centre in Redcar the Langbaurgh NHS Medical Centre. It just does not make sense. What on earth possessed them to call it Langbaurgh?

Have they no better imagination than to name it after the silly title given to the local Council that was abolished in 1996? Since 1968 there have been eight names for local government in Redcar:

Redcar Borough Council
North Riding County Council
Teesside County Borough
Cleveland County Council
Langbaurgh District Council
Langbaurgh Borough Council
Langbaurgh on Tees Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

Each time other organisations named themselves after the name of the Council and we were referred to as the people of the Council name. Not the people of Redcar. We are whatever name is dreamt up for the local Council and some damn silly ones there have been.

Not long before the abolition of Langbaurgh Council, it was decided to add the words "on Tees" because a Councillor had gone to a conference and had been asked if Langbaurgh was somewhere in Wales.

In addition, depending on the vested interest of whoever it is saying it, we are also referred to as the people of Teesside, Tees Valley, East Cleveland, Cleveland or even the north east, anything but Redcar.

As far as I am concerned we are Redcar, Yorkshire and I accept nothing else. 

It is so bad that major towns like Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar are only signposted when you arrive at the town. We are all lumped together as Teesside. This is because the Highways Agency have not changed their signing policy since Teesside County Borough was in existence. It was abolished in 1974. Small towns like Thirsk, Northallerton and Wetherby are well signposted but not Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar. About 15 years ago they promised to add these towns to road signs on the A19 as and when the existing signs are replaced but have not kept that promise.

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