Captain Cook shopping centre renaming shelved

Plans to remove an explorer's name from a shopping centre have been shelved.

Captain Cook Square in Middlesbrough was set to be renamed, sparking a backlash.

Middlesbrough Council responded by ordering the developer Praxis to carry out a consultation before any rebrand took place.

The council has now said the name change "is not a priority" and there are "no immediate plans to launch a consultation".

The shopping centre has been known as Captain Cook Square since it opened in 1999.

However, James Cook's legacy has been viewed less favourably in recent years in light of atrocities committed by Cook and his crew, including the murder of indigenous people when they sailed to New Zealand in 1769.

Cook died a decade later after he was stabbed attempting to kidnap the leader of Hawaii.

The plan to rebrand the shopping centre as The Square was announced on social media in December.

It sparked claims from the public that the council was attempting to "rewrite history".

Shortly afterwards, the council ordered Praxis to pause the rebrand so a "consultation with Middlesbrough residents" could be carried out.

But now Mark Smith, Praxis's head of regeneration, said the company had no "immediate agenda" to rename the shopping centre.

He added that if the company decided to rebrand the site it would only do so after a full consultation was carried out.

Praxis is attempting to turn the area into a leisure destination to attract more businesses and customers.

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