Teesside
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Arms of the Teesside County Borough Council |
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.
Historically these towns were located in the
counties of
Yorkshire and
Durham, however on
April 1 1968 they were removed and became part of the
county borough of Teesside through the merger of the boroughs of Middlesbrough, Stockton,
Thornaby-on-Tees, along with
Billingham,
Eston, Redcar and part of
Stokesley Rural District.
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, Middlesbrough and
Langbaurgh.
Local government reorganisation in
1996 saw the county of Cleveland broken up into the four independent
unitary authority boroughs of
Hartlepool,
Stockton-on-Tees,
Middlesbrough and
Redcar and Cleveland. 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.
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
*
Billingham*
Eston and
South Bank*
Ingleby*
Middlesbrough*
Redcar*
Stockton-on-Tees*
ThornabyHowever, the combined population of the neighbourhoods within the continuous stretch of urban area has a population of 388,500 and also includes the villages of
Eaglescliffe and
Yarm which are quickly becoming closer to
Ingleby Barwick which continues to expand west to the River
Tees.
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 postcode area however
Teesside is not a
Royal Mail post townTeesside 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.
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.
Teesside is home of the Parmesan, or
Parmo.
*
This is Middlesbrough - Your Guide to the town*
This is Hartlepool - Your Guide to the town*
Teesside Online - Online resource for Teesside, including history, entertainment, sport and lively online discussion forums.
