Moves grow to give Brick Lane a Tube station

A SENIOR councillor has called for transport bosses to celebrate the
diversity of the East End by changing the name of Aldgate East underground
station to Brick Lane.

Labour's Cllr Abdal Ullah (pictured) believes the move would boost both the morale of
the area and be a boon for tourism. He flagged up his idea at last Wednesday's Tower Hamlets council cabinet meeting and wants the change to come ahead of the 2012 London
Olympics.

Some believe the costs would be prohibitive, but Cllr Ullah said he had been told that London Underground was due to revamp their signs and maps in 2011 anyway.

But during his question time at the London Assembly yesterday, Mayor Ken Livingstone said that if there was 'widespread demand' for the proposal then London Underground would look into it.

Cllr Ullah said: "That would be an ideal time to make the change. What greater way could there be than to celebrate the cultural diversity and the rich history of immigration in the Brick Lane area than to name a Tube station after it in the year before the Olympics.

"It's an incredibly popular destination for both Londoners and tourists, but many people have trouble finding it on a transport map because there's no Tube station."

Pre-empting concerns he was interfering with London history, he said: "Aldgate station is named after an historic area, but Aldgate East doesn't have those links.

"Brick Lane is far more identifiable."

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