THE thorny issue of the cultural identity of Redcar and East Cleveland has forced its way on to the agenda of a high-powered council meeting later today.

The East Cleveland Independents group of councillors will argue that all Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council addresses should contain the word Yorkshire, despite the area being part of Cleveland since 1974.

The council's Conservatives have also tabled a motion for discussion at today's full council meeting that the authority should resist home rule for the North-East.

Conservative Party leader, Councillor Vera Moody, tabled the motion about the proposed Northern Regional Assembly.

She said the Conservative group believed the interests of the rural borough would be swamped by the urban areas of Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

The East Cleveland Independents raised the long-running argument of whether parts of Cleveland would be better to use the ancient name of Yorkshire.

Members of the public interviewed by The Northern Echo held widely diverse opinions for and against the motions.

Middlesbrough supporter, Carina Brown, 23, of Redcar thought the district belonged to Cleveland. She said: "We get so much criticism in this county from newspapers and everyone else and we should stick together to prove everyone wrong. We're part of Cleveland and we should be proud of it. When it comes to a regional assembly, I'd say we'd be better off having one just for Cleveland."

John Parsons, 60, of nearby Brotton, said: "I was brought up as being part of Yorkshire and I don't see why it should have changed.

"A regional assembly would be run by Newcastle and Sunderland who would say, 'we bring in the money, we're running this region'."

Young mother Kathryn Hutton, of Redcar, said she didn't care either way about a regional assembly. However, on the Yorkshire issue, she said: "We already pay too much council tax and the thought of the council wasting money and time on something irrelevant like this is annoying."

Paul Moore, who runs the Buy and Sell shop, in Redcar High Street, said: "The regional assembly would end up costing a fortune and it doesn't matter at all if Redcar's in Yorkshire or Cleveland as long as it's still in England."

The full council meets at the Town Hall, Fabian Road, South Bank at 2pm.