"Redcar and Cleveland on the Yorkshire Coast"? How much are these signs costing? How much money does Yorkshire plough into this region? Is the interim council abusing it's power?
One question I was asked this morning by Neil Green on BBC Tees this morning (14th March 2015) was in relation to new signage that the "interim" council have been putting up.
As I said on the radio, in my opinion it's an absolute disgrace regardless of how you feel about the message on these signs which will cost a few thousand pounds. Communication is everything and I certainly feel underconsulted as a resident.
As others have written this comes across as anarchic behaviour by a "temporary" council, two months before a general and local election. The Lib/Indy coalition are imposing more disjointed half cocked marketing to our area because of the narrow view that they think this represents the feeling of the residents living here in places like Redcar. It doesn't. The timing of this is all wrong.
Yes we need a strong identity and strong signage is part of that. But on it's own and without any consultation?
Our area has suffered far too long from a mixed identity because of lazy mismanagement of branding since at least 1974 with the underfunded renaming of "Cleveland". Cleveland was abandoned mid 1990's but here we are as Redcar and Cleveland with the Cleveland police, Cleveland still pops up as an option on Internet address forms.
Then there's Teesside postcodes and old signage still up in places referring back to Langbaurgh council. I stopped putting a county reference on my letters years ago.
Adding Yorkshire coast muddies us further, it's undemocratic and will only really serve the ego of 'the chosen few' in the civic centre of Redcar and Cleveland who are demographically bias to their cause.
Suggest things by all means but ultimately let the people decide on their strong identity and then when they've decided what that is, whether it be "Redcar and Cleveland on the Yorkshire Coast", "Teesside on Oceanum Germanicum" or "Langbaurgh on Vesterhavet", make the changes, do it thoroughly and set it in stone.
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