Confusion as council renames street backwards to make it less confusing

Baffled residents were left scratching their heads after the council put up new street signs spelling their road name backwards. Families living in Muriel Street in Barnsbury, north London,  discovered they were, from now on, living in Leirum Street. The name change aimed to reduce the confusion of emergency services and visitors unaware that the street is divided into three separate roads.



But many of the residents said they were not consulted about the switch and branded it “ridiculous”. Two signs have so far gone up on the estate with the name “Leirum Street”. Kath Wardely, who has lived in the street for 16 years, said: “It is ridiculous and it looks like a big balls-up. I think they got the stencil the wrong way round and now they are trying to cover it up. It is giving me the giggles just thinking about it.”



Her husband Ray said: “I have lived around here for more than 60 years and it has always been Muriel Street.” Postman Denis Field, 62, said: “It looks like a mistake to me. I can understand someone might want to change the road name, but just to reverse it? It’s unbelievable.” The Barnsbury Estate’s Tenant Management Organisation said it had requested the name change to make it less confusing for emergency services and visitors.



Officials at Islington council also said the new name on the Barnsbury Estate in Barnsbury was not a mistake and confirmed that the tenants’ association had requested the spelling switch. An Islington council spokesman said: “The name change for a small section of Muriel Street - which is cut in two by the estate - was requested by the tenants/residents association. This was to make it less confusing for emergency vehicles and other visitors. Some residents thought it was a cock-up, but it was a quite deliberate decision. I don’t know exactly who chose the name.”