500 signatures reached
To: Cardiff Planning Committee
Remove Picton from Cardiff City Hall
Cardiff Council wishes to remove the statue of Sir Thomas Picton, a colonial governor of Trinidad, from City Hall. As this is a listed building, planning permission is needed. We call on the Planning Committee to approve application 20/02340/MNR to allow removal to proceed.
Why is this important?
Thomas Picton’s statue has stood in the collection of Welsh Heroes in Cardiff City Hall for a hundred years, honouring his military exploits and ignoring his crimes.
Even by the standards of the early 19th century, Picton was a particularly brutal figure in the transatlantic slave trade and the harsh exploitation of the sugar plantations. He was convicted of the torture of a 14-year old girl. He was no hero.
Cardiff today aspires to be a welcoming city. People from across the world have settled here to work and to live, bringing vibrancy and diversity. Thomas Picton has no place in the capital city of Wales.
Removing this statue will send a message to Black people in Cardiff and across the world that the city recognises the role people like Picton played in slavery, and that we must address the systemic racism that still exists due to slavery and Empire.
