Google has agreed to remove the hyphens from the name of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, ending a dispute that has simmered for more than a century. The change follows a campaign by residents, who have long insisted the town should not be known as 'Bradford-on-Avon'.
The hyphen is said to have first appeared on an 1899 Great Western Railway (GWR) sign, before the 'wrong' spelling was adopted by map makers and slipped into common usage. The town council and local businesses recently launched a fresh push, calling on Wikipedia, GWR, the Canal Trust, National Highways, English Heritage and Encyclopedia Britannica to drop the punctuation.
Campaign against 'rogue hyphens'
Councillor Sam Blackwell, mayor of the town, told the BBC: 'The great dash debate has been rolling on for decades, but as a town council we are clear that our town's name is perfect without punctuation.'
Tom Vaughton, CEO at SEO experts Varn, started the campaign after spotting 5,800 incorrect references online, including on major platforms such as Google Maps. He said the problem had also made its way into artificial intelligence, and 'bad data' can spread fast nowadays.
The search and marketing agency based in Bradford on Avon 'couldn't just sit back and watch rogue hyphens take over the internet, or our town,' Tom said. He added: 'We're on a mission to clean up and set the Bradford on Avon hyphen record straight, once and for all.'
Google's response
GWR is said to have added the dashes after 1899 to avoid confusion with similarly named places. The rail firm's spokesperson said the hyphens would remain at the station because any changes would need to go through a 'raft of industry-wide systems.'
Google said it will review and take action on the hyphen campaign within 48 hours, BBC News reports. A Google spokesperson said: 'We have reviewed the request and will remove the hyphens in Bradford on Avon.' Other companies reportedly updating their content include Tripadvisor, Visit Bath, Discover Frome and Silver Travel Advisor.
