Ulverston street should be named after comedian - councillors

Ulverston town councillors voted to ask developers of the eight houses at Ford Park to call the street Laurel Gardens.

Ford Park Community Group had secured the sale of the site and Ford Park House in a bid to clear its debts and a planning application for the housing development was approved by South Lakeland District Council last year.

Modlar Homes, which is based in Ulverston plan to start work in March or April and the name of the development was discussed at the town council meeting on Monday night.

Modlar Homes suggested Fern Gardens as the street name for the development but councillors felt Laurel Gardens would be more appropriate.

Cllr Colin Pickthall said: “I propose we ask them to call it Laurel Gardens, I think it’s a better name.

“It reflects on a famous person in our area and we don’t have a Laurel Street or a Laurel Road. We have one or two Laurel Houses but nothing else named after Stan Laurel.

“I think it would be a nice tribute to him and it’s only been a short time since we worked up a friendship link with Harlem in Georgia, which is where Oliver Hardy was born.”

Planning permission for the site was granted in March last year but it took eight months for the sale of the land to be finalised. At the time of the sale chief officer at Ford Park, Ali Alger, was happy that the sale had secured the future for the remainder of the park.

In relation to what the street name will be called, Mrs Alger likes both names.

She said: “As long as the name is in keeping with the area I don’t mind, I think both names are lovely and both of them are synonymous with green.”

At the town council meeting six councillors voted in favour of the name Laurel Gardens and six abstained.

Carolyn Walsh, sales director for the developer, said yesterday: “If it is felt that Laurel Gardens is more appropriate for the street name we are more than happy to support it.”

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