Changing street names reflecting “negative history” has not been ruled out as councillors agreed a new street naming policy should be adopted in Watford.

A task group was set up at Watford Borough Council in 2020 after the emergence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and to respond to the "disproportionate" impact Covid-19 has had on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

The group wanted to "explore the issues that mattered to BAME communities and develop recommendations that would deliver change and improved outcomes".

But they also recognised the BLM movement, which according to a council report, "has highlighted symbols of the past, including street names which memorialise individuals who played a role in the slave trade and British imperialism".

The task group have met virtually since it was set up in September with final recommendations presented to a council overview and scrutiny committee on February 4.

Among the group's recommendations, which will next go to Cabinet, was adopting a new street naming policy for Watford, which includes setting out the process for reviewing existing street names.

Last summer Labour councillor Asif Khan, who sat on the task group, put forward a motion to change several street names which he believed "are named after people who were involved in the slave trade, colonisation and oppression".

The Leggatts ward councillor said in the motion that street names, buildings, statues and monuments should "reflect our town and that they do not contain any of the negative history which this town abhors".

Street names listed in the motion, which was passed by councillors at the time, included Imperial Way, Colonial Way, Clive Way and Rhodes Way.

The policy recommended by the task group last Thursday also looks at naming new streets and buildings to “reflect the rich diversity of the town”.

It was also recommended that the council should commission Watford Museum to develop an education programme based around a new exhibition “which explores the background and history of the town’s road names, including those identified as having negative historic links”.

Read more:

Next step taken in reviewing street names that reflect 'negative history'

Watford legend against renaming street names with colonial roots​

Cllr Khan, who welcomed the task group’s findings, said: "If the council eventually wants to take street re-naming forward, then part of the process would be that all businesses in Imperial Way, Colonial Way, Rhodes Way and Clive Way would be consulted.  Only if the majority of them agree would a change of street name go ahead.  But if they don’t, it won’t."

Cllr Khan’s colleague, Cllr Favour Ezeifedi, who chaired the task group, put forward a motion last year for a group to be set up to "provide research and insight into our local BAME communities, focusing on the issues that matter to them and working with them to develop recommendations that will deliver change and improved outcomes".

Councillors last Thursday also agreed that seven other recommendations made by the task group, including agreeing a corporate definition of BAME at the council, should be adopted.

Cllr Ezeifedi said: “The recommendations from this task group represent a significant milestone in supporting our community through the pandemic and in celebrating the diversity of our town.

"I am very pleased for the overwhelming support it has received. We will continue to champion that the recommendations are implemented within the specified timelines.”