The Vale of Glamorgan Council Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee Meeting on Thursday (14 Jan) a controversial review of the county's commemorations.

After a cordial debate, the committee agreed with the proposal to reevaluate the status of statues, monuments, street names and building names in the wake of 2020's global Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.

Barry Town Council and residents will suggest commemorations to be reviewed by a panel comprised of:

- Neil Moore, Leader of the Council

- The Council's Member Equality Champion- The Council's LGBT Champion

- A representative from the Vale of Glamorgan Stand Up to Racism organisation.

The criteria for whether a commemoration will be reviewed is currently unknown and will be decided by the Cabinet at a meeting on 25 January.

Various road names, a school name and a pub in Barry have previously been identified as commemorating controversial historical figures.

References to William Gladstone, Christopher Columbus, Samuel Hood and King William IV can be found in the town, all of whom are considered controversial to varying degrees.

Who said what?

Cllr Lis Burnett, the Deputy Leader of the Council who brought the matter to the committee, voiced her avid support for the review.

"I am really looking forward to it," she said. "It says to every single person in our community, 'you are welcome, you are valued and you are part of our communities.'"

Cllr Burnett said the review presents an opportunity to commemorate worthy figures from diverse backgrounds.

She mentioned the plaques on Thompson footbridge of Dominoes Youth Club - the first mixed-race youth club in the UK - as a prime example of positive commemoration.

"It was run by a fellow called Abby Farah. That is commemorated on the Thompson Street bridge with dominoes on there but how many people know?

"More than that, how many people know that Abdul Raheem Abby Farah is his son, who was brought up and educated in Barry and ended up being involved in the negotiations that freed Nelson Mandela.

"This is a much more positive piece of work than some would have others believe," she continued.

"In my mind this is just as much about recognising people. Rather than saying to people 'you live in a street with a suspect name', it says 'looks what you can achieve. You have a home to be proud of.'"

Cllr Leighton Rowlands, who was recently selected as Conservative Party candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth in this year's Senedd elections, says the review is untimely and opposes any move to "edit or censor our past".

"My deepest concern is, if we start going down changing street names, surely we should be learning from our history rather than trying to erase it.

"Changing street names or buildings, you're started to go down a slippery slope. You need to show people the history behind these people rather than trying to erase. And also, if we are going to change street names, who's going to pay for it - the tax payer.

"And should we be doing this during the pandemic. I think the general public would rather we were focusing on that."

Other committee members stated their support for the proposal but with varied opinions on how it should be enacted.

Cllr John Thomas argued that the lack of female representation needed to be considered: "Women represent 2.7% of statues. Maybe that needs to figure in the thinking at some point in the future," he said.

Although in favour of the review, Cllr Jayne Normal called for hidden costs to be considered:

"If the road name is changed, who is going to bear the cost to residents the residents of renaming bank details, national insurance details, brochures, advertising literature - all this is extra cost which needs to be brought into consideration."

Councillor Nic Hodges added:

"The victors write the history which is why we sometimes needs to rediscover it ourselves. There is a great paucity of statues in the Vale and the only one in Barry is a gooden.

"Barry has a very multicultural history, and when it comes to renaming new street names, one of the issues we had in the near past is that there was a great lack of imagination.

"We don't have that many issues in the Vale. Barry is new and rather past the slave times, Penarth just about the same. But I think we need to be positive about the future, and we as a local cultures committee need to push for […] showcasing our local history in some way within the Vale."

What's up for review?

A recent Welsh Government report titled The Slave Trade and the British Empire: An Audit of Commemoration in Wales identified 209 monuments, buildings or street names across Wales which commemorate people who were directly involved with the British Empire or the slave trade.

The Slave Trade and the British Empire: An Audit of Commemoration in Wales looked into ten locations across Barry to determine their links to slavery and Empire.

It found that all but Ffordd Penrhyn - which is in fact named after a topological feature - are linked to the controversial figures William Gladstone, Christopher Columbus, Samuel Hood and King William IV.

The King William IV pub on Bridge Street will be put forward for Phase Two of the review.

The report found that the nineteenth century monarch "spoke out strongly and on many occasions in favour of plantation owners and against abolition of the slave trade" and that the pub is a "clear" commemoration of him.

The pub name was placed in category three, denoting "certain commemoration and definite personal culpability".

However, only commemorations on public land will be reviewed, meaning the pub name will not be forced to change.

Gladstone Primary School, Gladstone Bridge, Gladstone Road, Gladstone Gardens, Columbus Crescent, Nelson Road and Hood Road are all likely to come under review.

While the Welsh Government report found both King William IV and Christopher Columbus to be culpable, it also said:

"Gladstone's statues have been criticised by campaigners on the grounds of his father's enormous profits from enslaved plantation workers and his own support for compensation of plantation owners at emancipation.

"He appears to have had no culpability in slavery personally and he became one of the leading reformers of the nineteenth century.

"While Nelson may have condoned the slave trade privately and Wellington may have supported West India interests, it is not clear whether he had any responsibility for the perpetuation of slavery."

Eighteenth century Admiral Samuel Hood was also found to have no "direct involvement in plantations or the slave trade."

Who decides?

Residents can submit commemorations they disagree with and figures they would like to see commemorated by speaking to their local councillor.

The cabinet will decide on the criteria for placing a commemoration under review during a meeting on 25 January.

The review panel will then consider each submission before selecting a course of action.