Watford legend against renaming street names

Hornets legend Luther Blissett told the BBC that he “objects to” roads such as Imperial Way and Colonial Way being renamed in the town, after a motion was passed by Watford Borough Council to review street names with links to Britain’s colonial past.

The motion by Labour Councillor Asif Khan called for roads to be renamed that "are named after people who were involved in the slave trade, colonisation and oppression".

Read more - Council to review street names with colonial roots and residents will have their say

Cllr Khan said in the motion: “Watford has a rich, diverse and positive history which must be celebrated.

"The council notes that it is not tenable to continue to have these existing names for these streets.

"Watford has been enriched by its ethnic minority citizens that have come from right across the world or born in UK.

"The likes of Luther Blissett, Anthony Joshua, John Barnes are but a few, who have made contributions to our town, but there are many more."

Street names that will be reviewed by the council include Imperial Way, Colonial Way, Clive Way and Rhodes Way, with a task and finish group now being set-up to consult with residents and local businesses across Watford for them to have their say before recommendations are made to cabinet.

While Blissett said it would be "rather nice" to have a road named after him, he said that it is “important that there is a real understanding” of where the current street names have come from.

He told the BBC: “The important thing is what we now, in this present time, can do about education so that people understand [their] past and understand hopefully what we can do moving forward."

Several councillors spoke in favour of the motion on Tuesday night, including Mayor Peter Taylor, who said it is “right to have a group that goes away and looks at this in detail”.

Blissett (left) and Mayor Peter Taylor (right)

He said: “If it is done badly we know that these kinds of issues can be highly divisive and I think at the moment the last thing we need is a debate that leads to angry voices on all sides.

"But having said that I completely recognise the need to look at it.

“We won’t just be looking at existing street names but we will also be talking about a policy for future street names which I think will be a really helpful thing to do.

“I do think that we should look at how we can honour those people who have made a significant contribution from a range of backgrounds to our town when we name these streets and it is the right thing to do.

“The committee that looks at this will do it in a very thoughtful way.”