Street naming and numbering

The street naming and numbering section is responsible for the naming and numbering of all streets within the Plymouth city boundary and for the maintenance of all street nameplates.

The street naming and numbering function and maintenance of nameplates are statutory requirements carried out by the council under the Public Health Act 1925.

House names

It is current policy to allocate postal numbers to any new buildings in Plymouth, as house names alone are no longer acceptable or indeed favoured by Plymouth City Council or emergency services. This is because a number readily identifies the location of a property within a road. There are only a small number of roads left in Plymouth, which have named only properties.

Plymouth City Council has no objection to owners adding a house or building name to an existing official postal address, however, any name must be used in conjunction with the official numbering at all times. This also applies if you wish to change an existing building/house name of a postally numbered property.

If you wish to change the name of a property which is not officially postally numbered you must put your proposals in writing to the Street Naming and Numbering Officer stating the current full address and the new requested name.

Postcodes

Plymouth City Council is not responsible for allocating postcodes. Royal Mail allocates postcodes after notification from Plymouth City Council. The Street Naming and Numbering Officer will liaise with Royal Mail when postcodes are required for new properties and developments.

Queries regarding postcodes should be dealt with by Royal Mail by contacting them on the postcode enquiry line 08457 111 222 or by visiting the Royal Mail website.

Procedures for renumbering properties

Occasionally requests are received from householders to change the postal number of their property (eg change from number 13 or a change of access to the property). If you wish to have your property renumbered you must put this in writing to the Street Naming and Numbering Officer who will visit the property to check if the request is feasible. It may be necessary to consult Royal Mail for their views. If the renumbering is feasible respective Ward Councillors will be consulted for their approval of the renumbering. It may be necessary to advise any other householders in the street of the proposed renumbering (eg courtesy letter to number 11 if 11a is the proposed new number).

The fee for renumbering a property is £32 (£11 for the official Renumbering Certificate and £21 for advising statutory bodies). Once approval from Ward Councillors is given and the relevant fees have been paid a Renumbering Certificate will be issued along with the date the new numbering becomes effective.

If the renumbering is a major scheme ie several properties to be renumbered, an individual report must be submitted to the appropriate Area Committee for approval. Plymouth City Council normally initiates major renumbering schemes and it is necessary to write individually to each house owner giving details of the proposals and inviting any objections to be made in writing by a given date. If any objections are made a second report must be submitted to the Area Committee for their consideration and final decision.

Procedures for renaming streets

On rare occasions requests are received from residents to change a street name. If you wish for a street to be renamed this must firstly be put into writing to the Street Naming and Numbering Section. Renaming of streets is not undertaken lightly and only after serious consideration will Ward Councillors be consulted on renaming proposals. Subject to approval in principle to the renaming proposals and no appeals being lodged, a report will be submitted to the appropriate Area Committee for a decision.

Street nameplates

When a new road is built the initial nameplates are installed by the developer. Plymouth City Council only takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the nameplates once the road has been adopted. Developers can contact the Sign Shop Manager on 01752 306012 for details on manufacturing and ordering of initial nameplates.

If you wish to report a defective nameplate or request additional nameplates please contact the Street Naming and Numbering Officer, see the details in the right hand column.

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