Black Boy Lane renamed due to 'racial connotations'

A street in north London is to be officially renamed, due to “concerns about the racial connotations” of its current name.

Black Boy Lane in Tottenham is to be called La Rose Lane from Monday, after the black publisher John La Rose.

It is among several roads and buildings across London to be renamed following Black Lives Matter protests.

One campaign group has criticised the decision, calling it a “performative display of virtuousness”.

Black Boy Lane is thought to have been named after a pub in the late 17th Century.

Haringey Council began a consultation into the planned name change following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, and subsequent anti-racism protests.

The local authority said “many other residents shared the concerns about the racial connotations of the name and the impact its continued use has on black people in Haringey”.

The council added it was “committed to taking action to both address inequality and celebrate the rich diversity of our borough”.

However, it admitted “a significant number of residents of the street” objected to the plans.

The local authority said the name change was part of a wider-ranging review into the history of street names in the borough.

School name change over slave trade link

The campaign group Save Our Statues said it was a “futile gesture” and criticised the use of public money spent on it.

Founder Robert Poll said: “This move is representative of the current impulse to hunt out racism and offence where there is none as a performative display of virtuousness.”

Several buildings and streets in London with names linked to the transatlantic slave trade have been renamed in recent years.

Cecil Rhodes House in Camden, named after the mining magnate, was renamed Park View House and Cassland Road Gardens in Hackney, named after merchant Sir John Cass, is also to be renamed.

In 2021, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan made funding of up to £25,000 available to community groups wishing to change the name of buildings “to celebrate the histories and experiences of Londoners from diverse backgrounds”.