Dell of a difference as wood is renamed
Community’s choice for area ’ Turretbank Wood’
A community-owned woodland in Crieff has been renamed following feedback from locals.
Crieff Community Trust ( CCT) has revealed Acorn Dell will now formally be known as ‘Turretbank Wood’.
CCT gauged the opinions of its members and local residents during a two-and-a-half week period in October and November.
The survey invited locals to give their views on whether the community-owned woodland on the west bank of the Turret Burn should be renamed.
The document made it clear that there was no plan to rename the path which runs along the river, known locally as part of the historic Lady Mary’s Walk.
The survey was prompted by repeated comments over many years from some people in Crieff who said that they disliked the name ‘Acorn Dell’, particularly as they felt it didn’t sound like a local place name.
Respondents were asked if they thought the name should change; whether they would prefer one of three alternative names – Oakbank Wood, Turretbank Wood or Crieff Community Woodland – and whether they wanted ‘Community Woodland’ to be part of the name.
The survey received 146 responses. Of these, 99 thought the name ‘Acorn Dell’ should be changed.
Only 17 respondents thought the name should remain the same, while the remaining 30 said they had no strong opinion on the matter.
The second question asked people whether they would prefer one of three alternative names to Acorn Dell.
In relation to the alternative names, even those who opted to reject the option of a name change were shown the trio of new possibilities and were invited to air their views.
Seven of the 17 respondents who said they did not want the name to change nevertheless selected one of the three alternatives, rather than skipping the question.
In addition, among the 30 respondents who said they had “no strong opinion” about whether the name ‘Acorn Dell’ should be changed, 29 out of 30 people also selected one of the alternative names.
Altogether, 123 survey respondents selected one of the three options, with 66 indicating a preference for ‘ Turretbank Wood’.
‘Oakbank Wood’ was chosen by slightly less than a third and ‘Crieff Community Woodland’ was chosen by less than a fifth.
A total of 115 people answered the question which asked if they would like the phrase ‘Community Woodland’ to be included in any new name for what was formally known as ‘Acorn Dell’. In total, 60 people thought that the official name should not include a mention of ‘Community Woodland’.
A CCT spokesperson said the section which asked for people’s comments threw up some interesting results.
One person was said to write: “Anything would be better than ‘Acorn Dell’ – it is so generically bland and alien as to be almost offensive’.”
Another respondent said: “‘I am given to understand McNeill’s Paddock was its name many years ago. Would be nice to reinstate it, so it relates to a person who was once connected to it, similar to Eppie Callum’s Tree, where the connection to the person has been maintained’.”
Others stated that, while not being specifically referred to in its new name, the fact that the area is a community-owned woodland should be referred to on any new signage.
Finally, one of the more light-hearted survey participants suggested the land should be re-named ‘Woody Mcwoodland’ – a nod to ‘Boaty McBoatface’, which was the overwhelming popular choice when the Natural Environment Research Council asked the public to help name a new vessel earlier this year.
The NERC later opted to christen the ship RRS Sir David Attenborough.
The CCT spokesperson said: “While we recognise that this [146] is not a large response, it is our view that if people did not participate in the survey having been given the opportunity and a reminder the issue is probably not one which they have strong views about. On the other hand, if people did take the time to participate in the survey, they probably do have strong views.
“Inevitably, a few people expressed the view that this survey was a ‘waste of time and money’ – although those individuals did also then go on to choose alternative names for Acorn Dell.
“In response, we would wish to reassure the people of Crieff that this survey was carried out entirely by volunteers at no cost to anyone.
“Thanks to those who took part.”