Street Naming and Numbering Service
We have a statutory responsibility to name and number streets and houses within the County and to ensure that any new or amended street and property names and/or numbers are allocated logically and in a consistent manner.
The legislative powers that allow us to carry out this requirement come under Public Health Act 1925. Local Authorities throughout the UK are also responsible for providing and maintaining the definitive address database.
The address of a property is becoming an increasingly important issue. Regulating the addressing of properties within the County ensures that consistency and accuracy is maintained and helps with service delivery and most importantly ensures emergency services can locate the address.
Royal Mail has no statutory power to name a street, name, or number a property or rename or renumber a property; however, it does have the sole duty of issuing or amending postcodes once the address details have been confirmed by the council.
We will check with Royal Mail on every request. Names will be considered acceptable unless they are likely to cause offence or if they are duplicated within the local area that might lead to post/delivery of goods being mislaid and more importantly the delay in the emergency services.
The Street Naming and Numbering service is required if:
- You have built a new property
- You have converted a property such as a barn into a dwelling, or a single property into flats.
- You wish to rename your property
- You wish to add a name to an existing numbered property
- You have built a new development; this may include naming any roads within the development.
- You wish to amend layout of new developments that have already gone through the naming & numbering process.
It is strongly advised that any Street Naming & Numbering applications made for new properties are submitted as early as possible in the development process. This will prevent any delay in obtaining services for the properties.
Once approved by us, the Street Naming & Numbering Officer will confirm your address in writing and will inform all internal offices, elections, council tax etc, utilities, ordnance survey, land registry and all emergency services to allow them to update their databases.
Failure to register your address with us will mean that any new address will not be official and will not be recognised by Royal Mail.
Once building regulations has been submitted for a new development which consists of more than three plots it is necessary to contact Street Naming and Numbering so that the required procedures can be followed to establish a new street name.
Do's and Don'ts of choosing property names
Do:
- Choose a name that is as original as possible.
- Bear in mind that names involving trees, shrubs and the like tend to be extremely popular, e.g. Rose, Orchard, Oak Tree, etc.
- Check your name on the Royal Mail Postcode Finder for originality Royal Mail Find a Postcode.
- Ideally provide at least two suggestions for the naming of each new property.
Do not:
- Choose a name which is in use by any other property or sounds too like another property in the area, e.g. LD3 7.., LD3 8.., LD3 9...
- Choose two suggestions that are merely variations on a theme, e.g. Rose Cottage, Rose Lodge; whatever suffix or prefix is picked, the name of Rose will not be approved.
- Choose a name that is offensive or open to misinterpretation.
Charges
Street Naming and Numbering Charges 2024 (PDF, 224 KB)
You can email us to make a general enquiry.
Street Naming and Numbering guidance notes (PDF, 489 KB)
Contacts
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