Residents of street honouring former prince 'would not support name change'

The majority of residents of Andrew Avenue in Renfrew, who responded to a consultation on the possibility of renaming the street, have said they would not support a change.

Renfrewshire Council has published the results of an engagement exercise on the issue, which took place after elected members agreed it should at the end of last year.

The process 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, councillors noted national concern around his “behaviour and character” and felt households should have the last word on whether the street name remained appropriate.

Councillor John Shaw, an SNP representative for Renfrew North and Braehead, requested the consultation via a motion to December’s full council meeting, with the backing of party and ward colleague councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes.

He said at the time: “It’s about one simple principle. That is giving local residents a genuine choice over the name of the street they live on.”

Councillor Shaw then added: “Let me be absolutely clear, this motion does not seek to rename Andrew Avenue, it doesn’t impose a decision, it doesn’t dictate an outcome.

“What it does is recognise that residents of the street – not politicians, not social media, not those unaffected by the outcome – should have the final say on whether the name of their own street remains appropriate.”

As a result, a consultation with residents was held between Tuesday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 31, with 22 of 52 households responding (42%).

Asked if they would support a formal proposal to rename Andrew Avenue, 16 said they would not (73%) while four said they would (18%), and two had a mixed opinion (9%).

Elected members will be asked to note the outcome of the engagement exercise and “reach a view” on next steps at this Thursday’s full council meeting.

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

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.