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More than 300 have say on Kirriemuir street name change as ‘Butcher Cumberland’ consultation deadline looms

Angus Council is asking residents whether they want to see the town centre street re-named to remove its link to a controversial commander of the English forces in the 1745 Jacobite uprising.

Cumberland Close is the site of Kirriemuir's Millennium fountain. Image: Graham Brown/DC Thomson
Cumberland Close is the site of Kirriemuir's Millennium fountain. Image: Graham Brown/DC Thomson

Kirriemuir residents have been given a final call to have their say on the re-naming of a town street.

And so far more than 300 locals have registered a view on whether Cumberland Close should stay or go.

On Sunday the curtain comes down on an online consultation which is the first of its kind to be staged by the council.

It follows a call for name to be dropped due to its link to a hated figure of the Jacobite uprising.

The street takes its title from Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who was labelled the ‘butcher’ of the rebellion.

Duke of Cumberland name controversy in Angus street.
Many consider Cumberland the ‘butcher’ of Jacobites. Image: Universal History Archive/UIG/Shutterstock

He was the third son of King George II and commanded the English forces.

And Cumberland’s name is said to have been given to the Kirrie close in the 19th century after he stayed there in the original Gairie Inn.

What led to the Kirrie consultation?

Last year, local man Scott McFarlane presented a 1,000-signature online petition to Angus Council asking for the street name to be changed.

He favours Visocchi’s Close, recognising generations of the famous town ice cream family whose old shop backs onto the street.

And after a heated Angus Council debate, councillors agreed in principle the possibility of a name change.

But they said the folk of the town should decide the matter.

It’s believed to be the first time a street name change has been put in the hands of locals.

Cumblerland Close in Kirriemuir.
Cumberland Close is home to craft units and Kirriemuir’s ‘walk of fame’ honouring famous town figures. Image: Graham Brown/DC Thomson

The month-long consultation has been carried out through the council’s Engage Angus online portal.

It gives residents a simple YES/NO option and the chance to suggest alternatives.

Angus Council said 333 people had responded so far.

The survey closes on Sunday.

What happens next?

The outcome will be reported back to councillors in due course.

A decision will then be taken on whether Cumberland’s name will be removed.

The survey response so far represents around 5% of Kirrie’s total population.

So it remains to be seen whether there will be a late flurry of responses and what councillors’ views will be on the level of feedback.

Council consultations recently came under scrutiny over a decision to merge two Arbroath nurseries.

There were only 19 online responses to an online survey on the plan to administratively close St Thomas and Hayshead nursery classes.

But more than 52% of those who did respond were against the plan.

The closure was agreed after one councillor said it was a “nonsense” to decide the issue on such a tiny outcome.

But another feared it would send out the message the council will ‘do what it wants’ when deciding issues which the public have been consulted on.

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