I wrote a book called “Crap Towns”. It seemed funny at the time

For an earlier example see KLF - It's Grim Up North https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20XLWEjN9eI

As a non British I though this was always a bit of dark British humour tradition.

See Black Adder, also

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Heroic_Failures - which mentions towns like Keynes.