Council spends £180,000 renaming Black Boy Lane in London in aftermath of BLM protests

A London street slammed for ‘racist connotations’ has been renamed with a huge cost of £180,000, it has been claimed. 

From Monday, Tottenham’s Black Boy Lane is to be rebranded as La Rose Lane, following outrage from Black Lives Matter campaigners.  

The new name is inspired by the black publisher John La Rose, a Haringey local who was a political activist and launched New Beacon Books in 1966. 

But heritage campaigners, Save Our Statues, alleged that the name change has cost Haringey Council £180,000 of public money.

Black Boy Lane is to be rebranded as La Rose Lane, following outrage from campaigners

The group also told the BBC that the change was a ‘futile gesture’.

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.’

At least 70 residents were also previously reported to have derided the plan as ‘tokenistic’ and an ill thought out ‘vanity project’ which could lose the history of the area. 

After plans were announced resident Anne Taylor, told MailOnline: ‘The La Rose family issued a statement forbidding the use of La Rose name to rename Black Boy Lane.

‘They said it was a tokenistic gesture at too great a cost for Black Boy Lane residents and that John la Rose would have hated the notion. 

It is thought that Black Boy Lane was named after a pub in the late 17th century

‘Racism has no place in today’s society but this is like clapping for the NHS. It made people feel good but it did not help the NHS.’

The renaming of Black Boy Lane follows the anti-racism protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in then hands of US police during 2020. 

Since his death, a number of statues and place names have been attacked for their racist connotations and links to the UK’s colonial past. 

It is thought that Black Boy Lane was named after a pub in the late 17th century.  

The decision to change the street name to ‘La Rose Lane’ was made by the council in February last year.

‘Haringey Council is committed to taking action to both address inequality and celebrate the rich diversity of our borough. We recognise that there are different views on how best to do this,’ it was stated online.

Haringey Council said that it planned to change the name following calls from residents

The council also added that it made the decision ‘following calls from Haringey residents, in recognition of the negative impact the racist connotations attached to the name have had on residents.’

Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council, said: ‘I’m delighted that we’re able to pay tribute to John La Rose with a new street name. John made such a huge contribution to Black life both here in Haringey and across the UK and played an important role in gaining recognition for Black authors and artists, as well as championing inclusive education.

‘I understand that this is a decision which has generated passionate responses. Several rounds of consultation were held, and I know that the Corporate Committee took the full range of views into consideration when deciding to change the name of the road. It is time now to move forward with this.

‘I also want to be clear that this is just one small part of the work that we must do to ensure Haringey is a place where everyone feels welcome and included. I look forward to working with residents and communities on this important mission in the months and years to come.’ 

MailOnline has approached Haringey Council about the alleged cost of the renaming.