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Street naming and numbering

Introduction

This information is for developers and property owners who

• need an address for a new development
• want to change the name of a house or even street, or
• want to know where an address comes from and what it's used for.

The postal address of any property, domestic or commercial, is used for a number of purposes including:

• delivery of post, parcels, official documents and other items
• connection of utility services such as electricity, gas etc
• verification of identity when obtaining goods online, for example insurance
• registration of ownership at the Land Registry
• location of a property by the fire, police or ambulance services.

It is therefore essential that your property has a unique address which can be easily understood and found and that the address has been agreed by the Council and circulated to other services. This information is intended to help in addressing new properties promptly and ensuring that the necessary services are kept informed.

If you think that the Council is using the wrong address for your property eg. on your council tax or rates bill, you should contact the Rights of Way Team. The team will confirm the correct address and if necessary contact Royal Mail to confirm the correct postcode.

This information covers:

• Address matching
  for utility companies trying to match plot numbers with postal addresses;
• Addressing guidelines
  the elements of a postal address and good practice for both new addresses and changes to existing addresses;
• Addressing procedure
  how we create a new or amended address and what happens next, with links to application forms;
• Changing an address
  the rules that apply to changing a street name or a postal address ;
• Royal Mail
  more information about what Royal Mail does with your address;
• Timescale and charges
  how long it takes and how much it costs to create or change an address.

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