Plans to rename streets honouring the philanthropist slave trader Edward Colston have been scrapped due to costs.
There had been calls to restore the medieval names for Colston Street and Colston Avenue in Bristol, following protests by Black Lives Matter activists, which saw the toppling of his statue in 2020.
It was then pushed into Bristol harbour.
Historian and TV presenter David Olusoga, who was involved in a commission examining the city’s past, compared the action to the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
But after examining the logistics of switching the names, the city council has now dropped proposals, stating it had not seen enough support from residents to justify inconveniencing them and heaping the cost of changes on them.
READ MORE: Just Stop Oil protestors halt Twickenham rugby final as trio storm pitch to throw powder
Responding to a Freedom of Information request, a council spokesman said: “We require that all property owners on a given street provide their consent for its name to be changed, as such a move incurs administrative costs for those individuals/businesses to change legal documents. We have no plans to change this position.”
In December 2020, a council chief confirmed the historic city centre streets could have their medieval names restored in the wake of the Colston statue being torn down.
Bristol has honoured the businessman’s memory for centuries after he bequeathed his wealth to charities on his death in 1721. Steep Street was renamed Colston Street and St Augustine’s Back or Bank, Colston Avenue.
Colston Street residents lobbied their councillor, writing letters and submitting a petition, asking for the original Steep Street name to be restored, and also asking for Colston Avenue’s original name to be restored in 2020.
At the time, Cllr Kye Dudd, the city cabinet head of transport and energy, backed their idea and said he would help make it happen.
He, Bristol council and David Olusoga were contacted for comment by the Sunday Express.
