Street honouring former prince to keep name after residents' consultation

Andrew Avenue in Renfrew will keep its name after most residents, who responded to a consultation on the possibility of renaming the street, said they would not support a change.

Renfrewshire councillors have agreed to bring an end to the process after a majority of households told an engagement exercise they would not be in favour of an alteration.

It followed the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s titles amid intense scrutiny over his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who died in 2019.

While the former prince, 66, has denied any wrongdoing, elected members had noted national concern around his “behaviour and character” and felt residents deserved the last word on whether the street name remained appropriate.

Councillor John Shaw, an SNP representative for Renfrew North and Braehead, who requested the consultation, spoke at Thursday’s full council meeting.

He said: “The residents have expressed clear views and I think from the outset, I believed, and I stated at the time, that this was likely to be the outcome given the potential inconvenience of a name change.

“But I also believed that the people who actually lived in the street deserved the opportunity to have their say and it’s important to remember that this process didn’t come out of nowhere.

“The issue was originally raised by local residents who themselves had concerns about whether the street name remained appropriate.

“I think local democracy probably works best when decisions are shaped by the people most affected by them and I think that’s exactly what has happened here.”

Andrew Avenue is located in a residential part of Renfrew – not far from addresses such as Charles Avenue, Anne Avenue and Edward Avenue.

The consultation was held between Tuesday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 31, with 22 of 52 households responding (42 per cent).

Asked if they would support a formal proposal to rename Andrew Avenue, 16 said they would not (73 per cent) while four said they would (18 per cent) and two had a mixed opinion (nine per cent).

As a result, it was confirmed at the meeting that the process would not progress any further.

In a personal statement in October, the then Prince Andrew said he would no longer use the title or honours conferred upon him. Later that month, Buckingham Palace confirmed he had been stripped of his prince title.

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office and subsequently released under investigation.