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City Hall has pledged to name new streets across Norwich after local women. Mike Stonard, the leader of the council, said roads forming parts of new developments should be named after well-known women and girls. The authority was urged to introduce a new policy to address a gender gap in the number of streets named after men rather than women.
The campaign was led by musical ensemble the Common Lot, which serenaded the council at a recent meeting in aid of its cause. Grace Courtney, speaking on behalf of the group, secured a commitment from Mr Stonard to work with developers to name new streets in Mile Cross after women. Plans for new homes at the former Mile Cross depot site in Norwich will ultimately see up to 200 homes constructed but have been hit by a series of delays.
How the Mile Cross depot redevelopment in Norwich could look (Image: Norwich City Council / Feilden + Mawson) Mr Stonard said: "The council works closely with communities and developers to ensure new street names reflect the cultural and environmental heritage of the areas they are built in. "We are happy to consider requests for naming a road after a well-known local person, especially if they have worked hard for their community or have historical links to the city. "We would also be happy to consider naming new streets across the entirety of the city in celebration of Norwich women.
" Streets across Norwich have already been named after women including Elsie Bertram, founder of Bertrams books, Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer, and Edith Cavell, the First World War nurse. Mr Stonard said existing names must not be duplicated and roads can only be named after deceased people. READ MORE: Remembering the city engineer who transformed Norwich a century ago Elizabeth Fry Road in Norwich (Image: Nick Butcher) Among candidates who could be considered are: Antoinette Hannent - the jazz singer and city publican known as Black Anna who died in 1976; Margaret Fountaine , a natural history illustrator, diarist and adventurer who died in 1940; and Brenda Ferris-Rampley, who died in 2022, the former mayor, sheriff and deputy lieutenant, who helped establish Cinema City.
Ms Courtney said: "Norwich women have a proud history of making change in our city and beyond. "Together with Norwich City Council, we are redressing the balance by naming all streets of the proposed Mile Cross development in honour of women.".
