Ideas to name square ignored by the council
FIGURES released under the Freedom of Information Act have reignited the Suffragette Square row by showing not one person suggested the name in a public nomination.
Stockport council named the new landmark, in the town centre, after asking people to nominate a ‘Stopfordian either significant in the life of our local community or to you as a resident’.
When Suffragette Square was announced in March, many criticised the choice, suspecting few of the 1,500 responses had suggested either this name or the four women it commemorated.
And the Freedom of Information Act figures show top of the list was charity worker and event organiser Andy Roughley with 749 nominations.
The women who were combined to come up with the name - Elizabeth Raffald, Gertrude Powicke, Elsie Plant and Hannah Winbolt - received 10, four, eight and one nominations respectively.
The suggestion of ‘Suffragette’ did not feature in the list.
Kerry Oakley, 35, of Hillgate, was among those to take part and suggested the landmark, near the new Redrock leisure development, be called Roughley Square.
She said: “The fact the Suffragette is not even on the list has really got people’s backs up.
“The council misguided people, saying we had an option to do something then making up its own name. I suggested Andy Roughley as he does so much charity work for Stockport, a lot of people did.”
Gertrude Powicke, Elsie Plant and Hannah Winbolt were all from Stockport and active in the Suffragette movement.
But another criticism is that Elizabeth Raffald, although a highly significant businesswoman, died in the 1700s, well before the movement was even conceived of.
The council say it was made clear from the start that the naming process was not a vote and there will be opportunities for other nominees to be commemorated.
He added: “We’d like to thank everyone again for their brilliant suggestions.
“Some very well thought of members of the Stockport community missed out.
“However, this decision was never intended to be taken in accordance with the popularity of the nominations.
“The Suffragettes changed the face of our country forever by making the first votes available to women and inspirational Stockport women played an important part in this.
“These women made incredibly brave decisions and life choices which led to a change which has huge significance for the lives of all those who will enjoy the square over a century later.
“The panel were also mindful that few public spaces are named after notable female Stopfordians and felt this represented an opportunity to redress this.”
Other prominent nominees include Martyn Hett, who died in the Manchester Arena bomb and exStockport County manager Danny Bergara.