Activists call for renaming of Pork Pie Roundabout in Leicester

Campaigners said renaming the roundabout would "inspire choices that help the environment"

Animal rights activists have urged the mayor of Leicester to rename the city's Pork Pie Roundabout.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have suggested calling the circular intersection Vegan Pie Roundabout instead.

PETA said it would inspire healthier food choices and celebrate Leicester's connection to veganism.

Mayor Peter Soulsby called any talk of changing the name of the roundabout "pie in the sky".

As well as campaigning for animal rights, PETA also promotes a vegan lifestyle.

Kate Werner, a campaigns manager for the organisation, sent a letter to the mayor about the name of the locally-famous roundabout.

The roundabout gets its name from the unusually-shaped library nearby

She said: "This timely name change would inspire healthier food choices that help the environment, celebrate Leicester's heritage, and prevent animal suffering.

"Encouraging people to eat plant-based could also help lessen the burden on Leicester's already overstretched NHS."

The roundabout is named after a building that sits between two of its six junctions.

Originally called Southfields Library, it became known as the Pork Pie Library due to its cylindrical shape, and now officially bears that name.

Leicestershire has a longstanding connection with pies. Less than 10 miles (16km) from the roundabout is the Pukka Pie headquarters in Syston, a brand that started in the county in 1963.

And Melton Mowbray is famously associated with pork pies, and hosts the annual British Pie Awards.

Ms Werner said there was also a historical reason to support renaming the roundabout.

She said: "The word 'vegan' was coined in Leicester by Donald Watson in 1944.

"It would also be a great way to celebrate the city's vegan and pie-loving heritage."

Leicestershire has a longstanding connection with pies

Mr Soulsby called PETA's suggestion a "funny and quite clever way of drawing attention to themselves".

He said: "There is no way we could change the name people have given to the library and the roundabout next to it.

"It has been known locally as the Pork Pie Library since it was built in the 1930s, thanks to its distinctive circular shape.

"Any talk of changing its name is just pie in the sky."