Street Naming and Numbering

Street Naming and Numbering

For many organisations - such as the Royal Mail, emergency services and utility companies - it is crucial that there is an efficient means of locating and referencing properties. As such the Council is required to provide a street naming and numbering service which will ensure any new streets and buildings are named and numbered in a logical and standardised way.

New streets and developments

To apply for new street names please complete the Register a New Development or Request a Change in Name form and we will contact you to confirm locations. Developers are encouraged to suggest street names in accordance with these guidance notes, but there are a number of things to bear in mind when doing this:

• No street name should start with ‘The’
• Street names cannot be duplicated within the area
• Subsidiary names cannot be created, for example Kings Mews coming off King Street, as this could potentially cause confusion
• Similar sounding names should be avoided, i.e. Churchill Road & Birch Hill Road
• Street names should not be difficult to pronounce or awkward to spell
• Names of living persons are not allowed
• Names of deceased persons where there are living relatives, i.e. family names, should only be used if the permission of the family has been obtained
• Where suggestions to commemorate past dignitaries or characters from within the Borough, only the surname will be used as part of the street name
• Street names that could be construed as advertising will not be allowed
• Street names that could be considered offensive, i.e. racist , obscene or would contravene any aspect of the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy will not be acceptable; nor are names that could encourage defacing of nameplates
• Names should preferably have less than 3 syllables
• The street names should, where possible, reflect the history or geography of the site or area

Additionally, the Council is supporting our Armed Forces by offering bereaved service families the chance to name new streets after their loved ones as a lasting commemoration for service personnel killed in the line of duty.  The Council will consult with families and work with developers in local areas on naming streets accordingly.

Named houses (no postal number allocated)

If your property has a name instead of a postal number and you wish to change the name, you need to apply using the Register a New Development or Request a Change in Name form.  The Council will then check the details and either approve, decline or ask for further information to assist with the request getting approval.  This will ensure that properties in the same area don't have the same name in order to avoid confusion for the emergency services and the Royal Mail.

Houses with postal numbers and names

If your property has a postal number and you want to give it a name as well, you do not need approval. However, the name may only be used informally and will not be registered by the Council.

Replacing a postal number with a name causes confusion for postal deliveries and the emergency services. You can display the name on your property and use it alongside the postal number in the address, but your property will always be identified by the number.

Allocation of new postal addresses and new streets

Once a new postal address or street name has been allocated, we will contact Royal Mail, who are responsible for the allocation of postcodes. Royal Mail will not allocate a postcode until they have received formal notification from ourselves of a new street name or address.

On receipt of the postcode, we will then inform the developer or occupier as appropriate. We will also inform other interested parties of the new address or street name. These include the emergency services, Council departments and other organisations.

Renaming/numbering of streets

On rare occasions it may become necessary to rename or renumber a street. This is usually only done as a last resort when:

• there is confusion over a street's name and/or numbering
• a group of residents are unhappy with their street name
• new properties are built in a street and there is a need for other properties to be renumbered to accommodate the new properties
• the number of named-only properties in a street is deemed to be causing confusion for visitors, the delivery or emergency services

Existing residents will be contacted and their views taken into account. We will also consult the Royal Mail for their position on the issue. To change a street name we will ballot the local residents on the issue. Hopefully there will be 100% support, but we require at least a two-thirds majority to make the change.

Informing Land Registry of renaming of houses or businesses

It is the responsibility of the property owner to inform Land Registry of a house / property name change approval (Land Registry Public Guide 2). The contact address for properties in Wyre is:

Postcodes

The council is not responsible for the allocation of postcodes to addresses.  It is the responsibility of Royal Mail.  Any queries regarding postcodes should be directed to Royal Mail by calling 0906 302 1222 of via their website at www.royalmail.com.

All new street names and addresses are allocated according to British Standard 7666.