Dear Eston residents and surrounding areas,

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Redcar & Cleveland Borough would like us to vote for a new name for Eston Precinct.

More information can be found via this link:

https://redcarcleveland.uk.engagementhq.com/eston-precinct-2/surveys/eston-precinct-name-rebrand

The fact that nobody I know has ever called it Eston Precinct, is another matter, but the four options are:

Eston Arches
Eston Precinct
Heritage Row
The Sidings

The so called, Eston Precinct, is the part of Eston Square that used to be home to the likes of Hinton’s, Wedlake’s, David Fox, Laura Margaret’s, Peter’s Records and in more recent times, Morgan’s, Teesside Hospice and Back 2 Basics. When redeveloped, it will still be a part of Eston Square, therefore why does it need a name? Look what happened when the powers that be tried to rename the airport, we all still called it Teesside.

We've waited years for Eston's redevelopment and in that time, we’ve lost most of our lovely, independent shops to takeaways, nail salons and Turkish barbers. When I was a kid, my mam and aunties, all shopped in Eston. It boasted numerous independent businesses from fruit and veg shops to butchers, banks, building societies and many, many others. I had my ears pierced at Laura Margaret’s and I bought my records from Peter’s. But then, the big supermarkets came and priced them all out. They were something new and somewhere you could shop for everything under one roof. 

Now though, we’ve come full circle. We realise the benefit of the smaller, independent shops. Supermarkets will always exist, but smaller businesses can and do thrive alongside them. Buying local offers a more personalised customer experience and often more quality products than the large supermarket chains. More importantly it's a way to support the local economy and create a stronger sense of community. 

And now, when the redevelopment finally looks like it's going to happen (after so many empty promises) it suddenly needs a name, separate to Eston Square?

I'm not normally one to try and 'rally the troops', but this has really upset me. First and foremost, I believe that the residents of Eston, should've been consulted, but we can't turn the clocks back, the vote is open and the new options are in the public domain. However, I honestly believe that Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council should at least offer us a 5th option of 'Eston Square' or simply, 'The Square,' if the redevelopment must have a name.

As to the idea of keeping it as Eston Precinct, it’s always been known as Eston Square or The Square in our family. Even as a kid, we didn’t differentiate between the Hinton’s area of the square, Walter Wilson’s, or the McDonald’s butchers side, it was all just Eston Square or The Square. Why should it change now?

At the end of the day, we can vote to call the redevelopment one of the four names, however, the vast majority of us will still refer to all the shops as a whole, as Eston Square or The Square. The people of Eston (and the surrounding areas) are fed up to the back teeth of being consistently overlooked for funding, so we wholeheartedly welcome and support the redevelopment. Regeneration has been a long time coming, and we all look forward to having some ‘proper’ shops, but do we really need to give it a name and separate it from our other shops and businesses in Eston Square? Surely, it's more important to pull together as one community, one shopping area. We are only a little village, after all.

Ultimately though, both the council and the residents of Eston want the same thing. We want to attract and encourage new investment to Eston. We want to become a thriving shopping area (again) with lots of small, independent businesses and have a real choice to shop locally, instead of visiting the likes of Guisborough, Great Ayton and Yarm etc.

People will come to Eston, regardless of how much money is wasted on rebranding or renaming if we have ‘proper’ shops; small, independent businesses that believe in quality produce, fair prices and good, old-fashioned customer service.

We, the people of Eston are its biggest asset. We care what happens to our little village and we will be the best free advertising there is...word of mouth. You only have to think about the support behind our new market, our annual Remembrance Parades or indeed the Christmas nights that the Eston Residents association used to organise a few years back to recognise this.

It is wrong that we weren't consulted.

Thank you.

Jacob Young Anna Turley David Taylor and Stephen Martin - Eston Ward Councillors your thoughts, please?

Huge thanks to Pamela Cannings and Friends of Eston for highlighting this.

Please note: the image below is not mine and is copied from the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council link on facebook.