The decision to change a street name that has been linked to racism has been deferred.

Haringey Council has been considering changing Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane in honour of former Haringey resident, publisher, essayist and poet John La Rose.

The council invited people to share their views over the proposal during a consultation earlier this year as part of its review on monuments, buildings, places and street names.

But following a meeting on March 17, the council’s corporate committee felt that more engagement needs to take place with residents before any such change is made.

The consultation found that 64 per cent of those who participated supported the proposed change, although 72 per cent of respondents living on the street itself objected to the specific proposals.

The corporate committee has a legal obligation to take into account any objections, particularly including the residents living in the street and organisations based there as well.

It agreed that in the light of the anticipated easing of the Covid restrictions, the council should undertake further engagement with the local residents before it makes a final decision on the renaming of Black Boy Lane.

Cllr Isidoros Diakides, Chair of the Corporate Committee, said: “I want to thank all those who put forward their views during the consultation periods; we are extremely grateful for your response during this difficult time and I want to assure everybody that the council takes seriously all the views expressed.

“I know that many Haringey residents and councillors, are keen to see progress made as soon as possible and, also, to properly respond to any concerns expressed.

“The renaming consultation has prompted a number of important discussions about race, equality, diversity and representation across the borough. These issues, and conversations, matter.”

He added: “This would be the first initiative of its kind and scale in the country, with other councils working on similar proposals and watching us to learn from our experience; it is therefore imperative that we get it right and maximise public support and consensus, in order to minimise the risks of misunderstandings, unnecessarily alienating people, or doing more harm than good.

”The committee members are aware that, despite the heroic efforts of our staff and the fact that the council has gone well beyond the minimum consultation and support requirements of the legislation, it proved impossible  to carry out direct face-to-face communication with the affected residents, due to the current lockdown restrictions.

“This is why we took the view that we should allow some more time for further engagement, using the opportunity created by the forthcoming easing of the COVID restrictions.”

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