Ashbourne: Black man's head removal to be investigated by council

The district council said it intended to remove the sign as it was a public safety concern and the issue required urgent discussion

A council will investigate what happened to the "racist" figure of a black man's head that was removed from a town centre sign.

Derbyshire Dales District Council said on Monday it intended to take it down following a petition for its removal.

Residents in Ashbourne later removed the 18th Century feature, located in St John Street, in a move they said was to save it from vandalism.

The head has since been returned to the council, its legal owner.

Resident Mark Redfern said the head was "saved by the people of Ashbourne"

The council has previously said any decision to remove the Grade II* listed head - located above The Green Man & Black's Head Royal Hotel sign - permanently would require consultation with Historic England.

A council meeting on Thursday night heard no decision on the head's future would be made until a public consultation took place.

Councillor Clare Gamble said this week's events "have turned the Derbyshire Dales into a national disgrace".

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The district council said it was gifted the sign a number of years ago

A petition by campaigners who wanted the figure removed - calling it "racist" amid protests following the death of George Floyd in the US - gathered more than 62,000 signatures.

A counter-petition calling for the head to remain amassed more than 8,000 signatures.

Councillor Claire Raw told the meeting: "I am really concerned about the implications of this in terms of how we manage equality and diversity across the council and given that there is a suggestion that local members were involved in the removal of said item, we should be thinking about measures to reflect on.

"They've seriously hurt and upset residents in that area from black and ethnic communities so it does cause me a great deal of concern."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said chief executive Paul Wilson agreed to carry out an investigation into councillor involvement.

There are conflicting accounts over the history of the head figure

The history of the figure is unclear. Some believe it was put up in honour of a Turkish man who came to Ashbourne hundreds of years ago and traded coffee - and was painted black instead of brown in a restoration.

Others say it depicts the head of a servant who used to visit the town with Sir Walter Raleigh.

The council announced its intention to remove the head after the statue of a slave trader in Bristol was torn down during recent demonstrations.

A 19-year-old student from the town said: "Having it in the middle of the street in a small town is so unwelcoming"

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