Ealing Council has announced it is changing the way it honours people and is replacing its Freedom of the Borough Committee with a Civic Honours Committee.
In a statement, the council said: “To ensure that a wide range of potential nominees are proposed from across the community, residents are being asked to nominate those they feel have made a significant contribution.”
The council said Richard Kornicki, the King’s representative Deputy Lieutenant in the borough will be involved in the new process which will honour those who are alive as well as passed away.
It added: “The committee will consider all nominations and provide a shortlist with recommendations for the award to be considered. That might be for Freedom of the Borough, which the council awarded in 2022 to England footballer Bukayo Saka, the naming of a road or building after someone, or making them an Alder of the borough.”
Councillor Peter Mason, the leader of Ealing Council said: “It is especially timely to introduce this new scheme during Black History Month. A month in which we recognise and celebrate those whose voices are often ignored, marginalised or unheard. Changing the way we do Civic Honours ensures that we hear those local voices loud and clear, celebrate them, their achievements and the way they represent us.”
Councillor Mason added: “We don’t want these awards to be something that sits on the mantlepiece, we want some of them to be out there in the world. With that in mind, we have decided to name 2 of the new buildings being built as part of our council homebuilding programme after Edna Wilkie and Magdalen Carter.
“Both Edna and Magdalen committed their lives to their local communities, and both independently set up supplementary school classes for children, in particular of Caribbean heritage, supporting hundreds of young people in the borough. They were remarkable women, and we are proud to be able to acknowledge and remember them in this way.”
To nominate someone, click here.
