Residents of ‘Laural Drive’ in Aughnacloy are hoping to soon see their street name corrected, ending 24 years of confusion for delivery drivers and residents on official mail.

Another consequence of the spelling mistake is that plans for bilingual English-Irish signage have been put on hold until the error is officially corrected.

Surprisingly, “Laural Drive” had been approved as a street name by both Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council and Royal Mail in September 2000 without the spelling being queried.

Speaking at a meeting of Mid Ulster District Council’s environment committee on November 12, deputy director of estate services Terry Scullion explained: “An application has been received from two households in that location for the street to be renamed and that is according to our own. the policy of correcting any incorrectly written development.

“It is really to seek members’ approval to proceed with the renaming survey to all property owners listed on the property register.”

The recommendation to continue the survey – a necessary first step towards officially fixing the misspelling in the street name – was put forward by Councilor John McNamee (Sinn Féin, Cookstown DEA) and seconded by Councilor Mark Robinson (DUP, Clogher Valley).

The relevant agenda item explains that street signs for both “Laural Drive” and “Laurel Drive” have in fact been installed, adding to the confusion: “The street sign indicating the name ‘Laurel Drive’ has been erected at this development by former council. at that time, and current street signage still reads “Laurel Drive”.

“Current street signage for Lettice Street includes the text ‘leading to Laural Drive’.

“The householders have advised that the reason for this request (to change the spelling) is that they are experiencing difficulties with deliveries and obtaining insurance due to confusion over the spelling differences of the development name.”

Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the residents in question both stated in correspondence that they lived in “Laurel Drive”, as opposed to the official – if misspelled – “Laural Drive”.

Another difficulty is that there was a request for English-Irish signage and it is very difficult to translate a word that technically does not exist – namely “Laural”.

The agenda item outlines a way forward: “Members will be aware that in the report on dual language signage presented to the Environment Committee in September 2024, it included details of a valid application that was received for dual language signage in Irish for Laural Drive, Aughnacloy. , which was going to go to the survey.

“Due to the subsequent street renaming application, this dual language in the Irish poll will be suspended until the outcome of the street renaming inquiry is known and considered by the council.”