It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll – Dartford Borough Council wins NLPG award
Category: Most Interesting Anecdote or Street Name
The address of a property, including the street name often says much about the local area. In Britain, with its rich history, street names can go back many hundreds of years and some are linked to amazing stories, characters or events. Today the task of street naming and numbering falls to Local Authorities under the provisions of the Public Health Act 1925, Sections 17 – 19. (However the huge growth in housing across Britain since the war has often resulted in street names which bear no relation to locale or history.)
Dartford is at the heart of the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone and is host to many new housing developments meaning that street naming and numbering at Dartford Borough Council is a constant activity.
The Bridge, a major £350m development of 1,500, innovative and environmentally friendly new homes situated just south of the Queen Elizabeth II Thames crossing known as the ‘Bridge’ presented Dartford Borough Council with a challenge to come up with new street names. The Bridge is the work of Hemmingway Design a company owned and run by Wayne and Geraldine Hemmingway, the names behind the Red or Dead fashion label. A conversation between Wayne Hemmingway and the Leader of Dartford Borough Council, Cllr. Jeremy Kite. regarding street names for the third phase of the Bridge examined the possibility of linking them to two of Dartford’s most famous sons, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Street naming and numbering policy unfortunately does not permit use of the names of living people so the conversation soon moved on to song titles many of which would be familiar to both young and old. The Rolling Stones back catalogue is extensive and some of the song titles such as ’19th Nervous Breakdown’ don’t really lend themselves to street naming! Despite this a team made up of Hemmingway Designs, the developer, Taylor Wimpey and Dartford Borough Council came up with a shortlist which was then presented to a Council Cabinet meeting.
The names confirmed at this meeting and the original references are as follows:
| Street Name | Reference |
|---|---|
| Stones Avenue | Band name |
| Babylon Close | Bridges To Babylon – Album |
| Ruby Tuesday Drive | Ruby Tuesday |
| Dandelion Row | Dandelion |
| Little Red Walk | Little Red Rooster |
| Lady Jane Walk | Lady Jane |
| Angie Mews | Angie |
| Rainbow Close | She’s A Rainbow |
| Cloud Close | Get Off Of My Cloud |
| Satisfaction Street | I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction) |
| Sympathy Street | Sympathy For The Devil |
Dartford Borough Council were delighted with the choice and issued a press release ‘Rolling Stones names bring satisfaction to The Bridge’, which resulted in huge TV, national, international and music press attention – all of it positive!
Cllr. Jeremy Kite, Leader of Dartford Borough Council said: “We came up with the idea because it’s great to give new housing areas a sense of history and residents are telling us they love the idea. The Rolling Stones have made a big mark on the world and it’s great for us to recognise their roots. It is a very groovy development – a very modern, creative community and I think people will enjoy the street names. It is not just fun – it puts the place on the map and links to our heritage.”
The new street names which will first appear in 2010 have been very well received by local residents and have certainly raised the profile of the town.
