More than 300 have say on street name

MORE than 300 Kirriemuir residents have registered a view on whether or not the town’s Cumberland Close should be renamed.

Yesterday the curtain came down on an online consultation.

It follows a call for the 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. He was the third son of King George II and commanded the Hanoverian forces.

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.

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

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.

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

It gave residents a simple yes/no option and the chance to suggest alternatives.

Angus Council said over 300 people had responded.

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 represents around 5% of Kirrie’s total population.

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

There were only 19 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.