Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in North East England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and surrounding settlements. It was also the name of a county borough between 1968 and 1974.
Local government
Template:Infobox historic district The Tees forms the historic county border between Yorkshire and Durham, with Middlesbrough on the southern (Yorkshire) bank and Stockton-on-Tees on the northern (Durham) bank. That part of Stockton in Yorkshire was made part of Durham by the Local Government Act 1888.
On April 1, 1968, as a consequence of a review by the Local Government Commission for England, the county borough of Middlesbrough united with the municipal boroughs of Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby-on-Tees, and the urban districts of Billingham, and Eston, and part of the Stokesley Rural District, to form a single county borough of Teesside, which was associated with the North Riding of Yorkshire.
In 1974 the Teesside county borough was absorbed into the larger non-metropolitan county of Cleveland along with the towns of Hartlepool and Guisborough. The Teesside area was partitioned between the boroughs of Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Langbaurgh, with the wards of Billingham East & West, Grangefield, Hartburn, Mile House, North End, Norton, Stockton South, Thornaby East & West going to Stockton; the wards of Coatham, Eston Grange, Kirkleatham, Ormesby, Redcar and South Bank going to Langbaurgh; and the rest going to Middlesbrough.
Local government reorganisation in 1996, recommended by the Banham Review, saw the county of Cleveland broken up into the four independent unitary authority boroughs of Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland (a renamed Langbaurgh). At this time they were returned to the counties of North Yorkshire and County Durham for ceremonial purposes, with Stockton-on-Tees becoming the only district in England split between two ceremonial counties.In 1998 the neighbouring borough of Darlington also became an independent unitary authority and this along with the four former Cleveland boroughs form the sub-region of the Tees Valley which is used for statistical purposes and governmental organisation as well as increasing economic and cultural connections.
Urban area
The Teesside Urban Area identified by the ONS for statistical purposes had a population of 365,323 according to the 2001 census, and had the following urban sub-areas
Eaglescliffe and Yarm are counted as a separate Eaglescliffe urban area, separated by a narrow gap, which has a population of 18,335.[1][2] Infilling development may join the two urban areas together.
The name
Teesside continues to be used locally to refer the entire urban area and the name can still be seen in the following uses:
- University of Teesside
- Teesside retail and leisure park which was founded by the now defunct Teesside Development Corporation
- TS postal area which is officially known as the 'Cleveland postal area' by Royal Mail, but was clearly formed from Teesside. [3]
- Teesside continues to be used as signed destination on UK road signs. It is only once the actual boroughs are entered that local town names are used.
It has also been adopted for various other purposes as a euphemism for the former county of Cleveland. The area has become, partially through Middlesbrough Football Club, affectionately named by locals as The Peoples Republic of Teesside.
Hartlepool
The town of Hartlepool is often included by some people in their definition of Teesside due to its proximity and historical and cultural links. However Hartlepool was not included in the county borough of Teesside between 1968 and 1974 but was in the county of Cleveland between 1974 and 1996. Hartlepool, as part of Cleveland, was covered by the regeneration work of the Teesside Development Corporation and is included in the TS postcode area. The town does have its own dialing code, 01429, as opposed to 01642 which covers Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Middlesbrough and surrounding settlements. Hartlepool is not covered by Teesside on British road signs.
Food
Teesside is home of the Parmesan, or Parmo.
References
- ^ ONS map
- ^ ONS KS01 table
- ^ Royal Mail, Address Management Guide, (2004)