Edited sentence: Geographic Identity.It remains unclear why the County of Cleveland was abolished and who decided that the majority of the residents of Middlesbrough wished to be part of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.Since the demise of Cleveland in 1996, debate has been extensive into the actual identity of the area Middlesbrough falls into.The Post Office states that residents are free to name the area as they wish, so long as the house number, street name and postcode are correct.The fact that the postcode for Middlesbrough is TS clearly indicates that the town was initially to be part of a county named Teesside rather than Cleveland as it became.The town is an independent unitary authority within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire