The District Council is responsible for the naming and numbering of all new developments.  The right to give names to streets starts with the developer and is approved by the Parish or Town Council.

House Names

If your property does not have a number, then the name of the property will form part of its official registered address. If the property has a name and a number then it does not form part of the official registered address and the householder is required to display the number so that it is clearly visible from the road. If you wish to give your house a name as well as its number, it cannot be similar to any other property name in the area so as to avoid confusion for the postal and emergency services.

Changing a house name

If your property has a number, you can give the house a name, or change the name of it as you wish. You should inform the council in writing of the change, and the name shouldn't be the same as or similar to another house name in the area. If your house only has a name, it is part of the registered address and you will need to write to us, stating the full current address and stating clearly the proposed new name. We will check that there are no similarly named properties in the postal district. We will advise you in writing if there are any problems with the name, or let you know the date that you can start using the new name from. We will inform the Royal Mail and other authorities of the change, but you will need to inform your bank, utilities providers and so forth.

New Addresses for Developments

If you are building a new property or properties or redeveloping an existing property into multiple dwellings, you should contact the council as soon as possible to arrange for the allocation of addresses.

If you are developing a new street or estate, you should contact the council to arrange the numbering of properties and naming of streets as soon as you are ready to begin working on the site.

See linked documents on the right for further information.

Street Name Plates

The initial erection of nameplates on a development is the responsibility of the developer. Subsequent repair and replacement is carried out by the District Council through its contractor.

To report a missing or damaged Street Name Plate, please contact us on 01480 388353.