Plantation Wharf development in London could be renamed amid slave trade row

6 November 2021, 15:02

Plantation Wharf is a luxury development in Wandsworth, overlooking the Thames
Plantation Wharf is a luxury development in Wandsworth, overlooking the Thames. Picture: Twitter

By Elizabeth Haigh

A new housing development in London called "Plantation Wharf" could be renamed after an MP condemned it for a "sickening mockery" of the slave trade.

Battersea MP Ms Marsha de Cordova has been vocal on social media about the planned name for the development overlooking the Thames.

"This is sickening and it makes a mockery of the history of the brutal transatlantic slave trade," she wrote.

The Complex also has street and building names that include Trade Tower, Cotton Row and Molasses House.

The development has streets called "Cotton Row" and "Molasses Row"
The development has streets called "Cotton Row" and "Molasses Row". Picture: Twitter

Following backlash to the name, the board behind the development said they have launched a consultation to consider changing the name theme of the complex.

In a separate tweet, Ms Cordova said it is essential the Plantation Wharf board "engage with the Black and Minority Ethnic community to ensure our anti-racist values are at the heart of the review.

"We must learn from but never celebrate England’s colonial past."

Read more: Idris Elba: 'people might be irritated' at celebs discussing climate change

Ms Cordova wrote to Wandsworth Council last year asking them to review street and building names in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement, but says she did not receive a reply.

Plantation Wharf is a luxury development in Wandsworth, on the site of a former sugar refinery.

Dr Vanessa Brady, a member of the Plantation Wharf board, said the board had agreed to "review the history of the name and propose a change through consultation with all residents".

Read more: Second Asian ex-Yorkshire cricketer 'comes forward alleging racial abuse'

"It is our view that this area has positively embraced a cosmopolitan culture and many families who reside here in Battersea and Wandsworth will have generations of family connected to the Wharf,” she added.

"It is important that we don’t forget or ignore their past whilst it is also important in the world we live in to ensure we provide opportunities to address any changes we make or we stand the potential risk of offending many other Black people if we eradicate the past as if it did not exist."

The board will consult historians and researchers in their review of the names.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Drivers queuing in Dover on Friday morning

Holidaymakers hit with 2-hour Dover ferry waits amid strong winds, as 2.6m hit the roads for Good Friday getaway

The attack happened on a train in south London

Teenager charged with attempted murder after south London train stabbing, with victim still in critical condition

Mother Natalie Pinnell

Mother left in tears after daughter with complex needs 'erased' from school photo

Amber Rudd and Mary Beard have both been nominated to the Garrick Club

Amber Rudd and Mary Beard among seven women nominated for membership of all-male Garrick Club

Exclusive
Anneliese Dodds said Labour would make sure local people have 'skin in the game' with tackling inequality

'Rebuild has to start from ground up,' Labour's Anneliese Dodds says, and 'local people must have skin in the game'

Mohamed Mansour has been awarded a knighthood

Conservatives accused of 'cronyism' after donor who gave £5 million awarded knighthood in surprise honours list

Exclusive
Justin Welby recalled his experience of coping with his father's drinking as a teenager.

‘It was utterly isolating’: Archbishop of Canterbury recalls harrowing childhood with alcoholic father

More than 2 million drivers are set to hit the road on Good Friday.

Easter Carmageddon: Over two million drivers to hit the road on Good Friday after Storm Nelson travel chaos

Michael Gove has slammed the water firm as a 'disgrace'.

Thames Water bosses branded a ‘disgrace’ as Michael Gove tells firm ‘not to punish consumers’ for its failings

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

A council has had to apologise following the incident.

Fury as parents offered version of school class photo without complex needs pupils

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto