CountyWatch
Encyclopedia
CountyWatch is a direct action
group in the United Kingdom
that was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly-placed county boundary signs that do not mark the historic or ancient county boundaries of England
and Wales. Since 2005, Count Nikolai Tolstoy
has been Patron of CountyWatch. CountyWatch and its supporters claim to have removed, re-sited or erected 80 county boundary signs in Dorset
, County Durham
, Greater Manchester
, Hampshire
, Lancashire
, Lincolnshire
, North Yorkshire
, Somerset
and Warwickshire
.
A prominent member of the group is Anthony Bennett
, a British politician. In May 2002 Bennett was prosecuted for removing 29 metric road signs that he claimed were illegal and that he was preventing the law from being broken. He buried the signs in four locations under bushes. Initially found guilty of theft and criminal damage, his theft conviction was overturned in October 2002 on appeal. The judge stated that "there was no evidence of dishonesty or that he intended to permanently deprive the owners of their signs." His conviction for criminal damage was upheld, but the Judge discharged the sentence, which had been 50 hours of community service.
s in the UK as part of a long-term project to weaken the constituent nations of Europe, notably the UK, and to concentrate power at two levels: Brussels
(the European Commission
) and the "regions" within countries. CountyWatch believes in taking direct action within the law to counter aspects of this project.
There have been similar illegal acts before. The former county of Humberside
was extremely unpopular with some of its residents. The book The Fight for Yorkshire by Michael Bradford detailed a series of cases where signs were altered to read "East Riding of Yorkshire" in North Humberside. None of these acts were ever prosecuted and in 1996 Humberside
was abolished.
, where, in November 2006, Bedfordshire County Council
erected four signs on the main roads on the north, west and south sides out of Luton
proclaiming 'Welcome to Bedfordshire'. Luton
is the largest town within the historic and ceremonial county
of Bedfordshire. Some letter writers still address mail to "Luton Beds". Some organisations based in Luton, such as the University of Bedfordshire, include 'Bedfordshire' as part of their address. In 1996, the Royal Mail
stopped using Postal Counties
as a method of sorting mail, using instead the post code. However, they have a "flexible addressing policy" whereby historic counties can be used. Luton became a unitary authority
on 1 April 1997. Bedfordshire County Council no longer runs any services in the area covered by Luton Borough Council.
The County Council erected the signs only in November 2006 in a struggle to save Bedfordshire County Council from extinction against rival bids from the Borough of Bedford
to become a unitary Borough Council and from Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire
Councils to become another unitary authority, to be called Central Bedfordshire
.
The signs were unpopular with some Luton residents, some of whom called the signs "snooty". Bedfordshire County Council responded by saying, "Luton has been a unitary authority since 1997 and is therefore not part of Bedfordshire. In July 2007, the government announced that Bedfordshire County Council would be abolished in 2010.
On 9 August 2007, CountyWatch removed four Welcome to Bedfordshire signs from Luton, claming they were misleading to the public. One sign was removed from the B653 to Wheathampstead
and re-erected on the A505 near Stopsley
in front of a Welcome to Luton sign. The other three signs were removed from the A6, the A505 and the B579. CountyWatch claimed these were being stored at a secure location and added that the signs would be returned to the County Council if they were re-sited on what CountyWatch deem to be the true Bedfordshire boundaries. The County Council responded by stating that, "This is absolutely crazy. We are proud of our county and we like to ensure that visitors are given a warm welcome. The signs on the edge of Luton mark the boundaries of their responsibilities and the beginnings of ours."
and Oxfordshire
. The signs were quickly removed. The Mayor of Abingdon
, once the county town of Berkshire, now administered by Oxfordshire County Council, said "I still get letters addressed to me with Abingdon, Berkshire, and many older people still have allegiances." The Mayor of Wantage
, however noted, "I think Count Tolstoy and his supporters are living in the past. They need to face reality. I know there are many older people in Wantage who still think of themselves as Berkshire people, but the reality is that time has moved on and we can't go backwards." The Mayor of Faringdon said that "Faringdon should stay in Oxfordshire", noting that "when we were in Berkshire, County hall in Reading was so far away. It's much better for us to get into Oxford.".
sign from Chewton Bunny at Highcliffe
and moved it to its historic location at the original County Gates border between Bournemouth
and Poole
, claiming that while Bournemouth and neighbouring Christchurch
had been administered by Dorset County Council for the past 30 years, they remained historically Hampshire
towns.
and Yorkshire and relocated them to the Darlington boundary. It would be travelling around Durham looking to see whether signs were on what it consider to be the correct, true border and would remove County Durham signs from the border with the unitary authority
of Darlington
to the historic and currently ceremonial border with North Yorkshire
on the River Tees
on 25 May 2006 and re-erect them on suitable posts along the River Tees.
The BBC
and Tyne Tees Television
filmed CountyWatch removing the boundary signs at Royal Oak
. Twelve signs with, "County Durham: Land of the Prince Bishops" were removed. Three of them were re-erected along the historic border between Yorkshire and Durham
– the River Tees, also the current ceremonial border. The Council were informed by CountyWatch of the location of the other signs they removed. Durham County Council issued a statement saying that CountyWatch's actions were "nothing more than sheer vandalism, no less mindless or anti-social than smashing bus stops or phone boxes".
On 31 May 2006, an article in The Northern Echo
newspaper praised the group's actions, calling the council's statement "a trifle wide of the mark" and ended the article - "Carry on CountyWatch".
near Nelson
, where they telephoned the Council's Solicitor. Lancashire County Council
reacted by stating that "the cost of replacing the signs would be met from taxpayers' money." and also that it would be speaking to the police about the group. The Welcome to Lancashire signs were erected on the boundaries with Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities by the county council in 2004 to show where its services begin. CountyWatch responded stating that, "The sign says 'Welcome to Lancashire', it doesn't say 'Welcome to the administrative unit of Lancashire County Council - that would be all right." The signs which were dumped by the side of the A682 in Blacko, near to the historic border with Yorkshire, were recovered by Lancashire County Council
who stated that they would re-erect them.
CountyWatch also claimed to have removed the larger brown-coloured motorway signs on the M6, M66 and M61 which read "Welcome to Lancashire the Red Rose County". They also claimed that they had a legal right to remove signs under the section 131 of the Highways Act 1980 because "they misinform the public".
. Lincolnshire County Council Area Highways Manager Eric Jorgensen described the group as "self-appointed and unelected" and stated that taxpayers would be forced to pay for the signs to be replaced.
On 22 September 2005, CountyWatch removed ten road signs stating: "Welcome to the County of Lincolnshire" between Brigg
and Immingham
, which the group claimed there was no point in putting up a welcome sign 15 miles into the historic county. CountyWatch claimed, "Lincolnshire starts where Yorkshire finishes – not 20 miles into Lincolnshire. We want them erected on the proper boundary". Lincolnshire County Council however attacked the group for taking council property and said "it will cost the taxpayer to put the signs back up". The signs were deposited at a council depot after being removed.
with either Bath and North East Somerset
or North Somerset
. The signs were taken down by CountyWatch members and relocated on the historic borders of Somerset
with neighbouring historic counties Gloucestershire
and Wiltshire
.
CountyWatch see this as the next phase of attempts to replace the administration of England and Wales by county and district councils with a series of so-called 'unitary' authorities, which combine the administrative functions of both district councils and county councils. Region-wide functions will be carried out by Regional Development Agencies and new government quangos, following the announcement earlier in the month of the abolition of unelected Regional Assemblies
from 2010.
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
group in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly-placed county boundary signs that do not mark the historic or ancient county boundaries of England
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
and Wales. Since 2005, Count Nikolai Tolstoy
Nikolai Tolstoy
Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky is an Anglo-Russian historian and author who writes under the name Nikolai Tolstoy. A member of the prominent Tolstoy family, he is of part Russian descent and is the stepson of the author Patrick O'Brian...
has been Patron of CountyWatch. CountyWatch and its supporters claim to have removed, re-sited or erected 80 county boundary signs in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
A prominent member of the group is Anthony Bennett
Anthony Bennett (English politician)
Anthony John Stuart Bennett is an English politician and campaigner. He was a member of the British political party Veritas and was listed on the database of the Electoral Commission as official leader for three days, before the real leader was revealed as Robert Kilroy-Silk.In 2006, he began a...
, a British politician. In May 2002 Bennett was prosecuted for removing 29 metric road signs that he claimed were illegal and that he was preventing the law from being broken. He buried the signs in four locations under bushes. Initially found guilty of theft and criminal damage, his theft conviction was overturned in October 2002 on appeal. The judge stated that "there was no evidence of dishonesty or that he intended to permanently deprive the owners of their signs." His conviction for criminal damage was upheld, but the Judge discharged the sentence, which had been 50 hours of community service.
Beliefs
CountyWatch sees the abolition of democratically-elected county councilCounty council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
s in the UK as part of a long-term project to weaken the constituent nations of Europe, notably the UK, and to concentrate power at two levels: Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
) and the "regions" within countries. CountyWatch believes in taking direct action within the law to counter aspects of this project.
There have been similar illegal acts before. The former county of Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
was extremely unpopular with some of its residents. The book The Fight for Yorkshire by Michael Bradford detailed a series of cases where signs were altered to read "East Riding of Yorkshire" in North Humberside. None of these acts were ever prosecuted and in 1996 Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
was abolished.
Bedfordshire
In August 2007, CountyWatch took its campaign to BedfordshireBedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, where, in November 2006, Bedfordshire County Council
Bedfordshire County Council
Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established in 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. It was replaced with three unitary authorities: Bedford Borough Council, Central...
erected four signs on the main roads on the north, west and south sides out of Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
proclaiming 'Welcome to Bedfordshire'. Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
is the largest town within the historic and ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Bedfordshire. Some letter writers still address mail to "Luton Beds". Some organisations based in Luton, such as the University of Bedfordshire, include 'Bedfordshire' as part of their address. In 1996, the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
stopped using Postal Counties
Postal counties of the United Kingdom
The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known officially as the former postal counties, were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996. The raison d'être of the postal county – as opposed to any other kind of county – was to aid the sorting of mail by...
as a method of sorting mail, using instead the post code. However, they have a "flexible addressing policy" whereby historic counties can be used. Luton became a unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
on 1 April 1997. Bedfordshire County Council no longer runs any services in the area covered by Luton Borough Council.
The County Council erected the signs only in November 2006 in a struggle to save Bedfordshire County Council from extinction against rival bids from the Borough of Bedford
Bedford (borough)
Bedford is a unitary authority with the status of a borough in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based at Bedford, which is also the county town of Bedfordshire. The borough contains a single urban area, the 69th largest in the United Kingdom that comprises Bedford and...
to become a unitary Borough Council and from Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.-Creation:...
Councils to become another unitary authority, to be called Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009...
.
The signs were unpopular with some Luton residents, some of whom called the signs "snooty". Bedfordshire County Council responded by saying, "Luton has been a unitary authority since 1997 and is therefore not part of Bedfordshire. In July 2007, the government announced that Bedfordshire County Council would be abolished in 2010.
On 9 August 2007, CountyWatch removed four Welcome to Bedfordshire signs from Luton, claming they were misleading to the public. One sign was removed from the B653 to Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....
and re-erected on the A505 near Stopsley
Stopsley
Stopsley is a ward in the north-east of Luton. Originally a hill-top village settlement, most of the urbanised part of the civil parish of Stopsley became part of Luton when the boundaries were extended in 1933, with the rural areas going to Hyde and Streatley.After the Second World War, there was...
in front of a Welcome to Luton sign. The other three signs were removed from the A6, the A505 and the B579. CountyWatch claimed these were being stored at a secure location and added that the signs would be returned to the County Council if they were re-sited on what CountyWatch deem to be the true Bedfordshire boundaries. The County Council responded by stating that, "This is absolutely crazy. We are proud of our county and we like to ensure that visitors are given a warm welcome. The signs on the edge of Luton mark the boundaries of their responsibilities and the beginnings of ours."
Berkshire
In April 2006 the group set up "Royal County of Berkshire" signs on the ancient border between BerkshireBerkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. The signs were quickly removed. The Mayor of Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
, once the county town of Berkshire, now administered by Oxfordshire County Council, said "I still get letters addressed to me with Abingdon, Berkshire, and many older people still have allegiances." The Mayor of Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
, however noted, "I think Count Tolstoy and his supporters are living in the past. They need to face reality. I know there are many older people in Wantage who still think of themselves as Berkshire people, but the reality is that time has moved on and we can't go backwards." The Mayor of Faringdon said that "Faringdon should stay in Oxfordshire", noting that "when we were in Berkshire, County hall in Reading was so far away. It's much better for us to get into Oxford.".
Dorset and Hampshire border
On 10 November 2005, Tony Bennett removed a DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
sign from Chewton Bunny at Highcliffe
Highcliffe
Highcliffe-on-Sea is a small town in the borough of Christchurch, Dorset in southern England. It forms part of the South East Dorset conurbation along the English Channel coast...
and moved it to its historic location at the original County Gates border between Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, claiming that while Bournemouth and neighbouring Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
had been administered by Dorset County Council for the past 30 years, they remained historically Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
towns.
Durham
In May 2006, CountyWatch announced that it has been contacted by Durham residents who were unhappy that Durham County Council had recently relocated signs from the historic boundary between DurhamDurham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
and Yorkshire and relocated them to the Darlington boundary. It would be travelling around Durham looking to see whether signs were on what it consider to be the correct, true border and would remove County Durham signs from the border with the unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
to the historic and currently ceremonial border with North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
on the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
on 25 May 2006 and re-erect them on suitable posts along the River Tees.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
filmed CountyWatch removing the boundary signs at Royal Oak
Royal Oak, County Durham
Royal Oak is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north west of Darlington....
. Twelve signs with, "County Durham: Land of the Prince Bishops" were removed. Three of them were re-erected along the historic border between Yorkshire and Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
– the River Tees, also the current ceremonial border. The Council were informed by CountyWatch of the location of the other signs they removed. Durham County Council issued a statement saying that CountyWatch's actions were "nothing more than sheer vandalism, no less mindless or anti-social than smashing bus stops or phone boxes".
On 31 May 2006, an article in The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo is a leading daily regional morning newspaper, serving the North East of England. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington. Its covers national as well as regional news. It is one of the UK's most famous provincial newspaper titles....
newspaper praised the group's actions, calling the council's statement "a trifle wide of the mark" and ended the article - "Carry on CountyWatch".
Lancashire
In November 2005 CountyWatch removed over thirty 'Welcome to Lancashire' signs from Blackburn, Blackpool, Skelmersdale and Southport, placing all of them on the historic Lancashire/Yorkshire border at BlackoBlacko
Blacko is a village and civil parish within the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 595.The village is on the old turnpike road to Gisburn...
near Nelson
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
, where they telephoned the Council's Solicitor. Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
reacted by stating that "the cost of replacing the signs would be met from taxpayers' money." and also that it would be speaking to the police about the group. The Welcome to Lancashire signs were erected on the boundaries with Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities by the county council in 2004 to show where its services begin. CountyWatch responded stating that, "The sign says 'Welcome to Lancashire', it doesn't say 'Welcome to the administrative unit of Lancashire County Council - that would be all right." The signs which were dumped by the side of the A682 in Blacko, near to the historic border with Yorkshire, were recovered by Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
who stated that they would re-erect them.
CountyWatch also claimed to have removed the larger brown-coloured motorway signs on the M6, M66 and M61 which read "Welcome to Lancashire the Red Rose County". They also claimed that they had a legal right to remove signs under the section 131 of the Highways Act 1980 because "they misinform the public".
Lincolnshire
On 27 July 2005, the BBC TV Look North regional news programme featured the group and filmed it in the act of removing a "Welcome to the County of Lincolnshire" sign near BriggBrigg
Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire...
. Lincolnshire County Council Area Highways Manager Eric Jorgensen described the group as "self-appointed and unelected" and stated that taxpayers would be forced to pay for the signs to be replaced.
On 22 September 2005, CountyWatch removed ten road signs stating: "Welcome to the County of Lincolnshire" between Brigg
Brigg
Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire...
and Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
, which the group claimed there was no point in putting up a welcome sign 15 miles into the historic county. CountyWatch claimed, "Lincolnshire starts where Yorkshire finishes – not 20 miles into Lincolnshire. We want them erected on the proper boundary". Lincolnshire County Council however attacked the group for taking council property and said "it will cost the taxpayer to put the signs back up". The signs were deposited at a council depot after being removed.
Somerset
In August 2004, CountyWatch's first action was the removal of five signs saying 'Welcome to the County of Somerset', on the northern border of the non-metropolitan county of SomersetSomerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
with either Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
or North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
. The signs were taken down by CountyWatch members and relocated on the historic borders of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
with neighbouring historic counties Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
Nine new local authorities
On 25 July 2007, the Local Government Minister, John Healey from the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that nine all-purpose local authorities would be created in 2009 in England.CountyWatch see this as the next phase of attempts to replace the administration of England and Wales by county and district councils with a series of so-called 'unitary' authorities, which combine the administrative functions of both district councils and county councils. Region-wide functions will be carried out by Regional Development Agencies and new government quangos, following the announcement earlier in the month of the abolition of unelected Regional Assemblies
Regional Assemblies in England
The Regional Assemblies of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies established originally under the name Regional Chambers by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. They were abolished on 31 March 2010 and replaced by Local Authority Leaders’ Boards...
from 2010.
See also
- Association of British CountiesAssociation of British CountiesThe Association of British Counties is a non-party-political outsider pressure group formed in 1989 that promotes the traditional counties of the United Kingdom. It claims that the traditional counties are an important part of Britain's cultural heritage and as such should be preserved and promoted...
- Friends of Real LancashireFriends of Real LancashireThe Friends of Real Lancashire are an outsider pressure group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic boundaries of Lancashire...
- Yorkshire Ridings SocietyYorkshire Ridings SocietyThe Yorkshire Ridings Society is a group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic borders of Yorkshire, and its traditional subdivisions, the North, East and West Ridings.-History:...