TOTTENHAM’S INFAMOUS Black Boy Lane will be no more after Haringey Council voted to rename the street ‘La Rose Lane’, after John La Rose, who founded the UK’s first Black-owned bookstore, New Beacon Books. 

Councillors said the change was made to reflect the diversity in the north London borough. 

Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of Council, said: “We consulted on the renaming of Black Boy Lane in favour of La Rose Lane as part of a review of monument, buildings, place and street names, aimed at ensuring that our public spaces across Haringey are reflective and respectful of our wonderfully rich and diverse borough.

“As part of our commitments to tackling systematic inequalities and responding to the Black Lives Matter movement we will work alongside residents, and stakeholders to celebrate our diversity through commemoration, public artworks, education and more. A road name change is only a small aspect of the bigger picture in our fight against inequality.”

The Labour-run council said the decision was part of a review of street names, monuments and buildings. 

The new street name will pay homage to Mr La Rose, who was a writer, poet and publisher, born in Trinidad in 1927. 

He moved to Britain in 1961 and five years later founded New Beacon Books, which was the first Caribbean publishing house and bookshop in the UK. 

Mr La Rose opened the bookshop – which specialises in Black British, Caribbean, African and African-American literature – along with his partner Sarah White. 

The iconic store became a community hub and was a key part of the Black Supplementary School Movement and the Black Education Movement. 

Cllr Mike Hakata, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and the Climate Emergency and Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “The council is undertaking a strategic review of how we pay tribute to historic figures through monuments, buildings, places and street names.  In a borough that celebrates its uniquely rich cultural heritage and diverse population this is a necessity.  

“Ahead of any report from this review we have agreed to rename Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane.  Regardless of questions over timing or the origins of the name this is an important step. However, changing the name of a street does not change the structures of inequality or the fortunes of everyone who is caught on the wrong side of prejudice.

“As a local black councillor, I must ask, have we done enough? Have we invested enough? The answer is simple – we need to do more, invest more, and with urgency, in collaboration with the black population of our borough whose lives matter not only in name but in action.”

The council said house numbers and postcodes would not be affected by the change and the Royal Mail would be automatically updated. 

They also announced the Nation Address database would be updated to reflect the changes. 

John La Rose died on 28 February 2006. A public consultation on the idea of renaming Black Boy Lane began in September 2020. 

One council that decided not to change offensive street names was Lib Dem-run Watford council in Hertfordshire.

The council had previously voted, in 2020, to review the street names Colonial Way, Imperial Way and Rhodes Way after a motion was proposed by Labour opposition leader Cllr Asif Khan.

But last month the town council did a u-turn after the mayor, Peter Taylor, announced there were “no plans” to change the road names. A taskforce decided they will only consider diversity with new roads but keep all existing names.

Cllr Khan told the Watford Observer: “The Liberal Democrats voted for my motion which called for some roads to be renamed. They spoke positively for this at the time but it is a shame Peter Taylor has not seized the initiative here and has rather bottled it.

“I believe the street names should be changed but it depends if it is what everyone else wants because that is how democracy works.”