A road is being named after two Blackburn brothers who established one of the largest UK firms.  Why are some people a little concerned about this? We should be congratulating them should we not?

Issa Way - the highway that connects Blackamoor Road to Roman Road - will be named after EG Group founders Mohsin and Zuber.

It was disheartening to read one councillor calling the decision ‘scandalous’. I mean whatever you think of it, it is a hardly ‘scandalous’. If nothing else the entrepreneurs have put Blackburn on the map.

What is ‘scandalous’ is that no one seemed to bat an eyelid when we put up statues of former slave owners and businessmen across the country whose practices were dubious to say the least.

In fact, we have a whole load of folk and national newspapers who would simply we forgot our past and seem to only want to remember what happened post-World War 2. To raise such issues means we are ‘living in the past’. Sorry but we need to address our past regardless of whether it ‘offends’ us or not.

The town has changed remarkably over the decade and it is thanks to people like the Issa Brothers.

Derelict buildings have been brought back to life and new structures have gone up. A huge number of jobs have been created and the area of Blackburn and Darwen is a far more thriving place thanks to these changes. Would we rather none of this had happened? Would we prefer big businesses to go elsewhere? Would we like them to invest their money elsewhere?

How can you say one is proud of your home town and then disparage anyone who is actually helping to make it better?

I sometimes read people’s views whenever a local person or organisation is doing something positive and I kind of think people would rather we went back to the nineteenth century. We have a whole load of people now who want to moan and groan at any change and then blame everyone else for not doing anything.

I’m not saying it is perfect and there is always room for improvement but you have to give credit to some Blackburn townsfolk who rolled up their sleeves and put an effort to change it.

Thankfully most of the reaction has been positive.

My own opinion is I do not agree with the naming of the roads or buildings after anything. If we are going to do it, I would rather we picked some volunteer who has cleaned the town for several years or an emergency worker who went out of their way to help others.

Yet, is it so offensive to name the road ‘Issa Way’? It is after all just renaming it Jesus Way. There’s food for thought.