Street and house naming

Introduction

The naming and numbering of streets and buildings within Mid Devon is a statutory function we undertake as governed by legislation provided under Sections 17 to 19 of the Public Health Act 1925.

The address of a property has become an increasingly important issue. Organisations such as Royal Mail, utility companies, delivery firms, emergency services and the general public need an efficient and accurate means of locating and referencing properties. Without an officially registered address it can also be difficult to open bank accounts, obtain credit or carry out online transactions for example. You can check your registered address on the Royal Mail website.

If your address is correct on the Royal Mail website but you are experiencing problems with mail delivery, you should contact Royal Mail Customer Services on 03457 740 740. Please note that delivery problems can occur as a result of not displaying the correct property number and/or name prominently on the property so please make sure the signing for your property is adequate.

Procedure

You should contact our Street Naming and Numbering Officer as soon as you start work on site. There are standard forms available for completing online or downloading. These detail the information needed to process the naming of new streets and numbering of new properties or the change and addition of a property name.

These forms should preferably be completed online with online payments (where applicable) and appropriate plans uploaded. Alternatively, the required information can be sent to us by post or as email attachments, but where the post or emails are used any required fee should be made by a card payment via 01884 234252 or 01884 234250.

What happens next?

In the case of larger developments that cannot be numbered into an existing street, we will check your suggested street names for duplication in the local area and forward them to the Town/Parish Councils and Royal Mail for consultation, if necessary. When we have an agreed name(s), we will register it and prepare a numbering plan and schedule, which will be sent to Royal Mail for the allocation of postcodes.

The information will then be sent to appropriate external organisation and internal departments. You will also be sent a copy of the naming and numbering plan and schedule from which we would ask you to inform all your prospective purchasers of their new property address. These addresses will be held on Royal Mail's "Not Yet Built" file until such time as they are notified the properties are ready for occupation.

Where appropriate, you will be asked to provide new street name plates to our standard design, details of which will be provided at the appropriate time.

House Naming

To add or change a house name, please use our House Name Change form to suggest an addition or amendment. Payment should preferably be made online with the online form and online payments. Alternatively, if a download form is used, and posted or mailed to us, any required fee should be made by a card payment via 01884 234252 or 01884 234250.

After checking that the proposal does not conflict with any existing address in the locality, we will send the details to Royal Mail for updating. We will then contact you in writing to confirm the change.

Street Name Plates

It is the developer's responsibility to provide street nameplates for new developments however, if an existing street name plate on an adopted street is vandalised or goes missing, please Contact Customer Services to report this to our Customer First team. The incident will be investigated and repaired or replaced as necessary. Please note that we will are not responsible for street nameplates on private or un-adopted streets.

Further Information

More detailed information relating to the above procedures can be found in our Street Naming and Numbering Procedures.

Contact Details

If you require help or further information, please contact our Street Naming and Numbering Officer or email 1135SNN@middevon.gov.uk.