Bradford on Avon wins campaign to remove erroneous hyphens from Google

Google has agreed to remove hyphens from the name of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, marking a significant victory for a long-standing local campaign. The dispute, referred to as the ‘great dash debate’, stems from the use of punctuation that residents claim was erroneously introduced by Great Western Railway (GWR) on a station sign in 1899.

Local businesses and the town council launched a campaign to correct the spelling after Tom Vaughton, CEO of Varn Search Marketing, identified approximately 5,800 incorrect hyphenated references online. While Google has promised to take action within 48 hours, GWR stated it will maintain the hyphens on its railway signs, citing the need to navigate complex industry-wide systems.

Mayor Sam Blackwell expressed the town council's position that the name is ‘perfect without punctuation’. The campaign has also called on other major entities, including Wikipedia and English Heritage, to support the unhyphenated version of the town's name.