Kirriemuir’s battle of Cumberland Close has been blamed for sparking a “bloodless” social media fight which split the Angus town.
The bid to drop the name of an 18th century British commander of the Jacobite uprising from a street in the centre of the wee red town looks doomed to fail this week.
It comes after a 75% response from locals against a plan for Cumberland Close to be re-named.
Local man Scott McFarlane led the campaign, saying the association with the Duke of Cumberland shamed the town.
But Angus Council left the decision in the hand of locals.
It mounted a month-long community consultation – the first of its kind over a planned street name change.
Survey findings before councillors this week
The survey results will be presented to councillors on Thursday.
And comments from the community poll reveal the anger the consultation stirred up.
One local said: “This campaign is dividing our community.
“Social media platforms that once were a good support for local residents and businesses are turning into a bloodless battlefield with aggressive remarks towards those who do not wish the name to be changed.”
It includes a claim a business owner was branded a “rabid Unionist” over the issue.
Other comments included: “You could change the name, but you can’t change history.
“Why would anyone want to erase history? We would not learn from our mistakes otherwise.
“This opens a can of worms.”
“We do not want to change the name just to please some nationalists,” said another response.
But the derided conduct of some in the debate was perhaps illustrated by comments such as: “What anal pedant idiot is suggesting this?”
Another branded supporters of the name change “Nationalist morons”.
And several said it was a waste of money for the cash-strapped council.
On the change side, one local said: “Not celebrating a murderer is more important than administrative costs.
“Horrible history is there to be learned from,” said another. “Our streets need to honour our heroes.”
The official recommendation to Thursday’s meeting is that the council should keep street name and take no further action.
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