Review finishes into Gedling street names with slavery links

Gedling Borough Council HQ
Gedling Borough Council HQ
By Kit Sandeman, Local Democracy Reporter

After the death of George Floyd, and growing awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, Nottingham and Gedling councils decided to conduct reviews into whether any street or place names had links to the slavery trade.

Now, Gedling Borough Council has said no place names or streets require further investigation.

However it has said it will investigate if any specific concerns are raised.

The leader of Gedling Borough Council, John Clarke, said he was opposed to ‘throwing signs away’, and would only consider changing street names found to be problematic after extensive consultation with the people who live there.

He also said the council would consider educational material around the signs, or placing them in a museum, should the need arise.

He also said: “I thought at the start that it was unlikely we’d have any (with links to the slave trade) but you’ve got to check these things.

“We’ll keep looking if anyone brings anything up, but I’ve not been made aware of any that are problematic.”

A spokesman for Labour-run Gedling Borough Council said: “Our building control team has now reviewed a list of all 1,716 street names in the borough to make sure they meet the expectations of our multicultural society.

“No names have been identified which require further investigation, but we can look further should we be made aware of any concerns.

“Similarly, we have considered the names of all known statues and public signage and have not identified any names which we consider should be reviewed.”

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