New road names in Rugby will be vetted under a new policy. The borough council has approved a new policy setting out acceptable terms, with historical connections to the area favoured over potentially more frivolous suggestions. A report drawn up by Sean Lawson, the authority’s head of environmental services, states: “As the borough grows, we receive more requests for naming street after people.
“Adopting a policy will help to clarify the process.”
Under the policy, names that refer to the historic and past heritage of the area will be given – but “names that may be considered as rude, obscene, racist etc will not be acceptable”.
Living people will now not have streets named after them – meaning James Shera Way, named after the Benn ward councillor, would have been rejected had it been suggested today.
The document adds: “Where the name of a person who died within the previous ten years is proposed then proof of the family’s consent must be provided by the applicant.”
Other stipulations are that punctuation and abbreviation should be avoided – potentially raising controversies surrounding apostrophes – and that names should be easy to say and spell “so as not to cause confusion”.
New street names are also required to have end with an “appropriate suffix” from an approved list. Street, Road, Avenue, Drive, Lane, Place, Gardens and Way will be accepted for thoroughfares. Others, the report states, include “Square – for a square” and “Hill – for a hill”.
And if no suitable names has not been suggested for consideration for a new road, officials will research the site and “in certain circumstances, liaise with borough councillors, parish councillors and or local history societies in order to provide suitable suggestions”.
Rugby’s population is expected to grow by 18.9 per cent over the next 22 years. The redeveloped Rugby Radio Station site alone is expected to house about 13,000 people.
Visit http://www.rugby.gov.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=5429 for information on how to submit a road name for consideration by borough council officials.