The council covering Nottingham has revealed a 2020 review into the links that its street names may have had with the slave trade did not cover the whole city. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and the discussions it provoked around the way in which historical figures were remembered, Nottingham City Council said in 2020 that a review would take place into statues and street names in the area.
The review intended to look at whether any of them had links to the slave trade, being announced at a time when a statue of slave trader Edward Colston had been dumped in Bristol Harbour by protesters. But after recently announcing a new policy on how it would name Nottingham's streets in future, the city council has confirmed its 2020 review into current ones never covered the whole area.
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning at the council, said: "In 2020 a review of any links that local street names and statues may have with the slave trade was undertaken on our behalf by the University of Nottingham. The focus of the review was statues, while in terms of street names it was not intended to cover the whole city but to inform our understanding of the historical connotations and associations around some street names."
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One of the most notable historical figures in Nottingham who was involved in the slave trade was Lord Carrington, Robert Smith, who owned hundreds of slaves in Jamaica. Lord Carrington was also a former Nottingham MP, with Carrington Street being named after him.
The recently announced street naming policy does not cover existing street names, but instead covers how Nottingham City Council will choose them in future. The policy said there will be a 20-year delay after someone has died before the council will consider naming a street after them.
Explaining the purpose of the new policy, Cllr Kotsonis added: "Our recently adopted street naming policy follows that review and will ensure that historical street names should not be used in newly-formed streets where known negative associations exist. The new policy also aims to ensure that proposed new street names are rebalanced to better represent the full diversity of the city in line with ethnic origin, gender and other considerations."
A similar street name review in Gedling was completed, with all 1,716 street names in the borough being reviewed. Gedling Borough Council said at the time that none of them required further investigation, but that it could "look further should [the council] be made aware of any concerns".
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