Big Yorkshire Conversation survey asks 'What is Yorkshireness?'

Stewart Arnold said Sheffield football rivals United and Wednesday are together in having the Yorkshire rose on the teams' badge

An online survey is asking questions about what gives the county of Yorkshire its identity and how people define 'Yorkshireness'?

The Yorkshire Society's Big Yorkshire Conversation is asking these thorny questions with the aid of the University of Hull.

It is the largest county in the UK with more than 5,000,000 inhabitants.

Stewart Arnold, of the university, said: "It's like a country in miniature, such is the diversity."

The Yorkshire Society, a non political and not-for-profit organisation, said it hoped the survey would start "a wide-ranging discussion about the future of the region".

It includes questions on Yorkshire identity, use of the Yorkshire name by companies and devolution.

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Yorkshire cities and their amenities were often only "a bus ride away" from countryside, said Mr Arnold

Originally split into three ridings, the county now has East, North, South and West Yorkshire

Stewart Arnold, from the University of Hull, said: "We want to try and understand the Yorkshire brand, it is quite powerful and people put positive cues on Yorkshire products.

"I thought 'what are these attributes? How is Yorkshireness expressed?'"

Mr Arnold, a lecturer at the university's Business School, said for him there were three particularly important elements, landscape, diversity of locations and the county's people.

The accessibility of Yorkshire's countryside from the area's big towns and cities also played a part in its appeal "you get the best of both worlds," he said.

The Yorkshire coast includes resorts like Whitby, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington

A traditional Dales countryside view may be many people's idea of Yorkshire

Mr Arnold said companies were waking up to the power of using Yorkshire to help market their products, citing the population's perceived "quirky humour and no nonsense, straight-talking.

"Anything that helps business go forward after Covid and Brexit is a good thing."

The questions on Yorkshire devolution were included as the Yorkshire Society thought the debate had passed most people by, he said.

About 500 replies had already been received and as the "bigger the sample the better", he hoped that number would at least double.

The survey was launched in April and is open to anyone and due to finish mid-May.