Street Naming & Numbering
Background
The present powers, which control street naming and numbering in the London Borough of Bexley and the Greater London area, are derived from Part II of the London Buildings Act (Amendment) Act 1939. The original Act referred only to the inner London area and was amended by Section 43(1) of the London Government Act 1963 to include the whole of Greater London.
With the dissolution of the Greater London Council in 1985 the powers held by that Council, in respect of street naming and numbering, were devolved to the London Boroughs by virtue of the Local Government Act 1985.
During its existence the Greater London Council applied policies to regulate the naming of streets and the numbering of buildings, and adopted Regulations, formulated by the London County Council in 1952, governing the display of numbers and names on buildings. These have subsequently been adopted by Bexley Council.
The Present Position
The Council is now responsible in law for the functions of naming/re-naming streets and numbering/naming buildings throughout the Bexley Borough area.
These responsibilities include consulting the Royal Mail and emergency services on any proposals to name a new street or to re-name an existing street, to inform all owner/occupiers of property of naming and numbering orders and to enforce the legislation as required.
The above legislation makes it an offence for anyone to set up an address without the sanction of the Council or to use an address other than that which has been assigned. Therefore, anyone constructing a road that requires a name or property that requires a postal number should contact the Council.
The Street Naming and Numbering function is carried out in the Development Control Division. The Address Management Officer may be contacted on telephone number 020 8308 7751.
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Notes For Guidance
New Roads
Developers will be asked to submit names for consideration. Names duplicating or sounding similar to existing road names will not be considered acceptable. Any names submitted will be circulated to the Royal Mail and emergency services for comment. The developer will be notified in writing of the name assigned to the road.
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Postal Numbering
Postal numbers will be assigned to new property in accordance with established procedures. In-fill developments will be assigned numbers in sequence with adjacent property. Property along new roads will be numbered odds on one side and evens on the other, except for a cul-de-sac, which will be numbered, consecutively in a clockwise direction. The number 13 will be assigned where appropriate.
The conversion or subdivision of any premises, which creates additional units, will require the assignment of new postal numbers and falls within the scope of the postal numbering legislation.
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Naming Buildings
Developers will be asked to submit names for multi-occupation buildings (such as blocks of flats) where it is not possible to number the individual units into the street. Any names submitted will be circulated to the Royal Mail and emergency services for comment.
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Re-addressing of property
Requests to re-address property will be considered, having regard to any operational difficulties that may be experienced by the Royal Mail and emergency services. The Street Naming and Numbering legislation will not be used to enable a more prestigious address to be established.
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Display of postal number
Regulations adopted by the Council require that any postal number displayed shall be in numerals of Arabic character, e.g. 123. The number shall be displayed to enable the Royal Mail, emergency services and occasional callers to readily identify the premises.
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