Council reimposes street sign after row erupts over rude name

A town council has reinstated a controversial road sign following a row with residents.

Two road signs for Slag Lane, in Westbury, Wiltshire are to be reinstated after a debate which lasted for years.

The road signs mysteriously went missing approximately five years ago.

This was shortly after some locals lost a bid to rename the street to Lakeside View.

There were some theories that residents who were unhappy at the decision to keep the name stole the signs in protest.

However, those in favour of keeping Slag Lane said that the name was a reflection of the town’s industrial past.

The name is a reference to the slag piles built up at the historic ironworks.

Wiltshire Council, which is responsible for providing replacement signage, was involved in a long-running fight with residents.

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​Now, new Slag Lane signs have been paid for and ordered, officially ending a ten-year row.

Westbury town councillor Russell Hawker said: “The committee decided that the name Slag Lane is historic and appropriate in this context, and that new residents moving into homes in Slag Lane knew perfectly well the name of the road before they moved.”

The street became infamous, featuring on several media outlets along rudest place names in the UK.

Westbury Ironworks opened in 1858 after the construction of the railway in the area during the 1840s had led to the discovery of iron ore. The works closed permanently in 1933.

Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport and street scene Caroline Thomas (Con) said: “Following a request raised through the local highways and footway improvement group with support from Westbury town council, new replacement signage was ordered for Slag Lane in Westbury.

“Whilst we are unsure what had happened to the original signage, the replacement signage has now been delivered and has been programmed for installation in due course as part of our local highways maintenance programme.”

The street is not the only explicitly named street in Wiltshire.

Other seemingly suggestive place names located in the South Western county include Honey Knob Hill and Wilsford Cum Lake.