Business leaders' verdict in identity debate
Jul 27 2010 by Karen McLaughlan, Evening Gazette
WE are Teesside - that's the verdict of local business leaders when it comes to the region's identity.
As well as a strong Teesside, the message also came that we need to be part of a strong North-east to take the region forward.
Business leaders also overwhelmingly rejected the Tees Valley brand at a meeting held by the Evening Gazette and the Institute of Directors last night.
Members of the local business community were asked to attend the event and give their verdict on the Gazette’s identity survey.
Almost 2,000 people recently completed the survey - with just over half opting for the name Teesside as the one to describe the place where they live.
Those responding to the survey also gave the name Tees Valley a resounding thumbs down.
The sentiments were echoed at last night’s event with an almost unanimous rejection of the Tees Valley brand.
Many agreed that having a clear, unified brand was essential to help the region continue to grow and prosper. Almost all believed in a strong Teesside within a strong North-east region as the best way to move the area forward.
Stockton-born Robin Bloom, head of legal functions at Gibson O’Neill on Teesside - the company built by Middlesbrough FC chairman Steve Gibson - said: “We don’t have an identity that everyone is behind. The reality is people have never got behind the idea of Tees Valley.”
He added it was also key to be part of a strong North-east, though - with the “bigger regional picture” just as important.
Businessman and Wynyard Hall owner Sir John Hall said: “We need an identity to be a sub-region, it’s all about leadership.
“If we’re not united, we are weak.”
Alan Ransome, who runs a Middlesbrough-based sporting goods business and is chairman of Ormesby Table Tennis Club, said “I’ve been disappointed for a long time. Wherever I go I have to explain where Middlesbrough or Teesside is.
“That puts us at a serious disadvantage to other major centres in the North.
“When it comes to Leeds or Manchester, people know where they are.
“Our area is losing out badly because it has no identity, we’re lost.”
He added: “We need one name we can all agree on - one name we can all get behind.”
