Street naming and numbering

The Street Naming and Numbering (SNN) team in accordance with the Public Health Act 1925 is authorised to name or rename any road. This is usually at the request of the residents, developer or occasionally the parish council.

New developments

The new developments that are named and numbered by the SNN team range from large developments consisting of many roads and hundreds of properties to smaller developments of just a few houses. Developers often have suggestions for street names which they would like to be considered and these are welcomed. The SNN team will initially check to ensure that the same or similar sounding names do not already exist within the same postal area.

If you are a developer, have received approval for your development and/or are about to start work on the development, you should contact the SNN team straight away to commence the process by writing to:

Street Naming and Numbering team
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Civic Offices
London Road
Basingstoke
RG21 4AH

The process

From start to finish the process can take up to four weeks, so the earlier we receive your request the sooner the new address can be assigned.

Ward and parish councillors are contacted with the proposed name and their comments are taken into consideration. On the very rare occasion that agreement cannot be reached the matter is passed to the relevant Portfolio Holder to make a final decision.

House numbers are allocated once the road name has been agreed. This usually follows the route that Royal Mail will use for postal deliveries. Houses are numbered to the road that the front door has access to. When allocating numbers the council also has to consider the ease of access to ensure the property can be located quickly and simply, especially by the emergency services.

Numbering of apartment blocks
The numbering of the apartments is such that emergency services can quickly determine which floor the apartment is located. For example, if there are 20 apartments per floor and 12 floors they would be numbered as follows:

Ground floor: 1 to 20
First floor: 101 to 120
Second floor: 201 to 220
Eleventh floor: 1101 to 1120

Informing other organisations
Confirmation of the approved addresses, together with layout plans are finally returned to the developers and copies sent to:

Royal Mail
Emergency services
Utility companies
Other relevant council departments.

It is essential that the developer provides enough nameplates and that adequately lead a visitor to the correct location. Apartment blocks should have adequate and visible signage at the main entrance(s) to indicate where within the block each apartment is located.

Single new dwellings and property conversions

If you are a developer or resident who has recently commenced work on either building a new dwelling or converting a property into flats, you will also need to contact the SNN team in writing to register the property.

A plan showing the location of the property and its access point(s) is useful, alternatively you can supply the planning application number. For a single development or conversion, consultation is not required and can be approved within a matter of days. On receipt of the written request we will then be able to allocate an official address.

Once the address has been confirmed we will then advise the official address and the location of the new development to the:

Royal Mail
Emergency services
Other relevant council departments.

Street name plates

The initial erection of nameplates on a new development is the responsibility of the developer. Street name plates should generally comply with The Department of Transport, Circular Roads 3/93, which can be downloaded below. Wherever possible the name plates should be erected at the back edge of a footway where one exists and the grass verge should be kept clear.

Subsequent repair and replacement is carried out by the borough council through its contractor.

To report a missing or damaged street name plate, please contact us by emailing customer.service@basingstoke.gov.uk or phoning 01256 844844.

Postcodes

Postcodes are the responsibility of Royal Mail and they are only assigned by Royal Mail following receipt of address confirmation from the SNN team. The developer should contact Royal Mail to receive the allocated postcode on 08456 011 110.

You can also contact Royal Mail using the above link or phone number if you are a resident who is unsure of your postcode or experiencing any problems with it.

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey collates data from Royal Mail, on-the-ground investigations and surveys and it can frequently take up to six months before a new development appears on their maps. Only permanent features are surveyed and displayed. To purchase an Ordnance Survey map for location purposes, please ring 08456 050504 or go to the Ordnance Survey website

Documents

Department of Transport, Circular Roads 393 (PDF) [247 kb]