Street Naming and Numbering Guidance Notes

1. Introduction

1.1 The naming and numbering of streets and buildings within Chorley is a Statutory Function of Chorley Borough Council (hereafter known as "the Council"), and is covered by Sections 64 & 65 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 and Sections 17-19 of the Public Health Acts 1925. The Council is the only organisation with the authority to name and number new streets and properties within Chorley Borough.

1.2 The address of a property is becoming a very important issue. Organisations such as the Post Office, emergency services and the general public need an efficient and accurate means of locating and referencing properties. The Royal Mail will not allocate a postcode until they receive official notification of new or amended addresses from the Council.

1.3 The purpose of this guidance note is to provide advice to developers and building occupiers on the naming and numbering policy of Chorley Borough Council.

1.4 The Council is happy for developers or occupiers to propose names for consideration. It is suggested that more than one new name is suggested, and that the names proposed meet the criteria set out in Sections 4 - 6 below.

2. Applying for a new postal address

2.1 Applications should be made by

2.1.1 individuals or developers building new houses, commercial or industrial premises, or:

2.1.2 Individuals or developers undertaking conversions of existing residential, commercial or industrial premises which will result in the creation of new properties or premises.

2.2 Applications for new addresses should be submitted as soon as possible after permission for the proposal has been granted. This is important, as utility companies are often reluctant to install services where an official postal address has not been allocated.

2.3 Applications can be made either by completing the enclosed form or online at www.chorley.gov.uk. A layout plan to scale (preferably 1:1250) should be attached. The completed form should be sent to Chorley Borough Council, Civic Offices, Union Street, Chorley, PR7 1AL.

2.4 If an application is submitted at a late stage of the development, problems could arise, especially if the application is rejected and purchasers have bought properties marketed under an unofficial marketing title. It should be made clear in any marketing literature distributed to prospective purchasers that marketing names for developments are subject to approval, and therefore liable to change. Some occupiers could feel aggrieved by the loss of a supposedly prestigious address and its replacement with an address that falls within the Council's guidelines as set out in this document.

3. Procedure

3.1 Once an application has been received, the Council will check that there is no duplication of existing street names within the Borough.

3.2 The Council will check that the proposed street names accord with the General Naming Conventions, Street Naming Conventions and/or Building Naming and Numbering Conventions as outlined in Sections 4 - 6 of this document.

3.3 The Council will consult with the relevant Parish Clerk, the Executive Member (Customer And Advice Services) and the Shadow Portfolio holder (Customer And Advice Service). We aim to have a reply from these persons within 21 days.

4. General Naming Conventions

4.1 No street name should start with "The".

4.2 Street names cannot be duplicated within Chorley Borough

4.3 Street names should not be difficult to pronounce or awkward to spell

4.4 Names of living persons will not be allowed.

4.5 The street names should, where possible, reflect the history or geography of the site or area.

4.6 Street names that could be construed as advertising will not be allowed.

4.7 Street names that could be considered offensive will not be allowed.

4.8 Subsidiary names (i.e. a row of buildings within an already named road being called .....Terrace) should not be used.

5. Street Naming Conventions

When naming new streets, the following conventions should be considered:

5.1 All new street names should end with one of the following suffixes:

Street (for any thoroughfare)
Road (for any thoroughfare)
Way (for major roads)
Avenue (for residential roads)
Drive (for residential roads)
Place (for residential roads)
Lane (for residential roads)
Grove (for residential roads)
Mews (for residential roads)
Gardens (for residential roads - subject to there being no confusion with local open space)
Crescent (for a crescent shaped road)
Close (for a cul-de-sac only)
Court (for a cul-de-sac only)
Square (for a square only)
Hill (for a hillside road only)
Circus (for a roundabout only)
Terrace (for a terrace of houses, but not as a subsidiary name within another road (see Section 4.8)
Lane (for development of a historic by-way)
Vale (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Rise (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Row (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Wharf (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Dene (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Mead (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
End (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Side (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
View (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Park (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)
Meadow (for residential roads in exceptional circumstances)

5.2 Exceptions such as single or dual names without suffixes should only be used in an appropriate context (i.e. Broadway - for major roads only).

5.3 All pedestrianised streets should use the following suffixes:

Walk
Path
Way

5.4 The use of North, South, East or East (as in Chorley Road North and Chorley Road South) is not acceptable when the road is in two separate parts. In such a case, one half should be completely renamed.

5.5 Phonetically similar names within an area should be avoided (i.e. Chorley Road and Chorley Close, or Churchill Road and Birchill Road)

6. Building Naming and Numbering Conventions

When naming / numbering a new building, the following conventions should be considered:

6.1 A new street should be numbered with the odd numbers on one side and the even numbers on the other, except in the case of a cul-de-sac containing less than 30 properties, where consecutive numbering in a clockwise direction is preferred.

6.2 Private garages and similar buildings used for housing cars, etc, should not be numbered.

6.3 All numbers should be used in the proper sequence (including 13).

6.4 Where an existing street or similar is to be extended, it would be appropriate to continue to use the same street name. This would include the continuation of the street numbering.

6.5 Buildings (including those on corner plots) will be numbered according to the street in which the main entrance is to be found. The manipulation of numbering in order to secure a prestigious address, or to avoid an address with undesirable associations, will not be authorised.

6.6 If a building has entrances in more than one street, is a multi-occupied building and each entrance leads to a separate occupier, then each entrance should be numbered in the appropriate road. Exceptions may be made, depending on circumstances, for a house divided into flats.

6.7 In residential buildings (i.e. a block of flats), it is usual to give a street number to each dwelling where the block is up to six storeys in height. When the block exceeds this height or there are not sufficient numbers available because of existing development, it should be given a name and numbered separately internally.

6.8 Legislation permits the use of numbers followed by letters or fractions. These will be suitable, for example, when one large house in a road is demolished, to be replaced by (say) 4 new smaller houses. To include the new houses in the existing numbered sequence of the road would involve renumbering all the higher numbered houses on the side of the road affected by the proposal. This is something that the Council would be reluctant to do (see Section 7). To avoid this situation, the new houses should be given the number of the old house with A, B, C or D added (i.e. 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D). Fractions are only used where it is not possible to use letters.

6.9 For private houses in existing unnumbered roads, it is essential that the houses be officially allocated names. The name should not repeat the name of any house or building on the area.

6.10 Where a property has a number, it must be used and displayed. Where a name has been chosen to a property with a number, the number must always be included. The name cannot be regarded as an alternative.

6.11 Where a property is subdivided to create two or more new dwellings, the numbering will take the original house number plus the additions of letter A, B ,C etc. For example, if 21 Pall Mall is divided into 2 dwellings, the new dwellings will be numbered 21A and 21B.

6.12 Where two or more properties are combined to form one single property, the following conventions will take place:

6.12.1 In the case of business use, the address will take the form of the Business Name, followed by the combination of both former property numbers (e.g. if 17 & 19 Union Street are to be combined as a business premises, the new address would take the form of BUSINESS NAME, 17-19 Union Street.)

6.12.2 In the case of residential use, the address will take the form of a single number, using the lowest street number. (e.g. if 17 & 19 Union Street are to be combined as a residential premises, the new address would take the form of 17 Union Street.)

7 Renaming and Renumbering of Streets and Buildings

7.1 On rare occasions, it may be 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 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, delivery or emergency services.

7.2 Residents of the affected street will be consulted, and their views will be taken into account. We will also consult the Royal Mail.

7.3 Local residents will be balloted on the issue. At least a two-thirds majority will be required to make the change.

7.4 In extreme cases, the Council may use its powers under the relevant act to enforce the street name change

8 The NLPG and LLPG

8.1 The Council is responsible for maintaining information relating to Chorley in the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG). This is done by maintaining a Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG)

8.2 The LLPG and NLPG will be updated to include all authorised new street names, building names and numbering. These will be made in accordance with British Standard BS7666 :2006.

8.3 The Council is not responsible for the assignation of postcodes to addresses. The Royal Mail does this. Any queries about postcodes can be dealt with by the Royal Mail by calling 0906 302 1222 (Postcode Enquiries) or via their website.

9 Charges

9.1 From 1st April 2009, Chorley Council will charge for the provision of Street Naming and Numbering.

9.2 There are 5 types of application that can be made for Street Naming and Numbering

Addition of house name / renaming of a property
New development on existing street
New development to include naming of new streets
Changes to layout after initial notification
Renaming of street at resident's request.

9.3 The fees are as follows:

Application Type	Charge
House name added/renamed	£50
Naming of new street	£200
Development of 1 to 5 plots	£40 per plot
Development of 6 to 10 plots	£35 per plot
Development of 11 to 50 plots	£30 per plot
Development of 50 plus plots	£20 per plot
Changes in development after initial notification	£40 per plot
Renaming of Street at resident's request	£100 + £25 per household

These charges are not subject to VAT.

9.4 Payment can be made in two ways, by cheque or invoice. Cheques should be made payable to Chorley Borough Council and sent along with the application form. If preferred, an invoice can be raised, and payment can then be made via the methods indicated on the invoice and application form.