Street naming, numbering and signing procedures

The council determines the official postal address for all residential and commercial premises within its boundaries. If you have built a new property you will need to follow the procedure below to obtain issue of the official address for the premises.

How does it all work?

Upon receipt of your application, a street naming and numbering officer will determine the correct address and issue it to forty bodies including the emergency services.

It is up to the resident or occupier to notify their own private companies such as banks, building societies, doctors and so on.

A copy of the scheme will be sent to Royal Mail Postcodes at Sunderland and they will issue the post code to the premises. The correct post code will not be allocated for the premises until this is received.

All new road names are chosen by the town and parish councils.

What does it all mean?

If you are a developer building new premises within this borough you will need to follow the procedure below to obtain the official address for each property. If you wish to suggest new road names please include them at this stage for consideration
If you wish to change the name of your property and it is the sole identification for the premises then you must follow the procedure below
If you wish to add a name to your numbered property you must follow the procedure below

What are the procedures?

For new premises and no previous address

If you have not received a letter from the Street Addressing Department asking you to apply formally for an address then you will need to include in your application site plans showing the main entrances clearly marked to all properties, location plans and copies of planning and building approvals, notices and certificates.

You should apply for a official address once the permissions have been granted and as soon as a firm layout is known. This should be done prior to occupation of the premises.

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For property naming

If the property name is the sole identity of premises (ie, the road is not numbered)

For a property name only, the council acts in an advisory capacity, to prevent confusing addresses of office blocks, flats or houses where there is no official numbering scheme, and the alternatives are:

i) applicant suggests a name and submits it in writing with a plan showing the exact location of the property, to the officer, who checks for duplication or other objections. If it is a newly-built property please include site/location plans and copies of planning and building approvals, notices and certificates.

ii) applicant submits selection of names and site/location plans and copies of planning and building approvals, notices and certificates to the officer, who checks as above.

iii) applicant consults officer and agrees to accept name from approved bank. Engineer obtains bank name from town or parish clerk.

In both (new premises and sole identity) of these circumstances, the officer will then issue the scheme with a schedule and plan based on the applicant's plan to the applicants and all other relevant parties.

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For naming a numbered property

Applicant submits in writing the name they have chosen. The officer will then check for duplications and provided there are none the name will be added to the address and issued to all relevant departments in the council and to Royal Mail Post Codes.

The applicant must however continue to use the official postal number in the address. It is in the applicant's own interest to inform all outside bodies including the emergency services, which are shown on the list enclosed with the letter confirming the new address.

For infill development in a numbered road

For infill development in a numbered road the applicant needs to apply as for a new address. The officer will proceed in the same way.