Anyone responsible for building developments which give rise to new Addressable Objects should liaise with the SNN Authority to determine whether any new Street Names and / or property numbering or naming schemes are required.
The naming and numbering of new streets can be a lengthy process from receipt of an application, through the consultation process to preparation and completion of approved schedules and location plans.
Applicants should consult with Hertsmere at the earliest opportunity to avoid potential delays. This should be done as soon as possible after the necessary planning and building regulation approvals are obtained.
Property owners who require SNN changes for splits / mergers or other reasons should also contact us.
All SNN requests for new developments should be submitted electronically, with:
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A location plan clearly identifying the new scheme in relation to any existing Streets or means of access.
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A detailed plan of the development clearly marked with the plot numbers of the proposed scheme.
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An internal layout plan for developments which are subdivided at unit or floor level, for example, a block of flats or commercial, industrial units.
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The main entrance to each subdivision or block must be clearly marked.
Applications without planning and building regulations approval will not be approved.
We are happy to accept suggested themes in relation to proposed street and building names. However, there is no guarantee that these will be accepted.
Hertsmere has a rich historical background. To ensure preservation of this heritage, we like to involve local historic societies in the SNN process. Developers and individuals are welcome to submit names for consideration, as long as they fit the criteria outlined in this document, but should the historic societies suggest something more historically apt, preference will be given. The Street Naming and Numbering Officer may either accept a suggestion/s or object and offer alternatives.
In the event that no historical link can be established directly to the land under development then adjacent areas may be explored for ideas.
The consultation process will begin once the application has been approved and the relevant fees have been received.
Once a name suggestion has been agreed by the Street Naming and Numbering Officer, in agreement with the local historic societies and Ward Councillors, the developer will be notified.
The consultation period will run for 14 working days.
Where a street is created as all or part of a new development, all costs for the erection of new street name plates will be paid for by the property developer. There is a specification for the plates and their locations (Appendix B of our Policy) and the authority should be contacted for advice.
Maintenance of street name plates becomes the responsibility of Hertsmere Borough Council only once the developer has left the site and the street has been adopted.
No street name plate is allowed to be erected until the street name has been confirmed in writing by Hertsmere Borough Council.
Requests for Street Name Plates should be made to: engineering.services@hertsmere.gov.uk
Name only property - The name of an existing named property may be changed. The proposed name must not already be in use by any other property, nor sound too similar to any other property name, in the area. A detailed check will be undertaken on receipt of the application to avoid duplication.
Adding a name to a numbered property (alias name) - Where a property has a name and an official number, the name will be an addition to the number and not a replacement. The number must always be included in the address and displayed on the property. The name cannot be regarded as an alternative. Any request to remove a number from an official address will be refused.
When considering applications for a change to a property name that appears in an official address there will be a requirement for us to check the proposal against the list of historic place names. If there is good evidence that the property has a historic name that has appeared on historic mapping, then we will ask the applicant to reconsider the proposed change and retain, or perhaps adopt, the historic name.
Once approved we will change the name of the property and advise the relevant and confirm in writing the new official address to the owner of the property.
The conversion or sub-division of a residential property resulting in a single point of entry from which all the flats are accessed will be numbered rather than described or lettered. For example, Flat 1 as opposed to First Floor Flat or Flat A.
Conversion or sub-division of a residential property resulting in multiple points of entry with each flat having its own separate front door from the designated street, will include a suffix to the primary parent or shell address. For example ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ will become 24A, 24B, 24C.
The conversion or sub-division of a residential property resulting in a single point of entry from which houses in multiple occupation (HMO) are accessed will be numbered according to the primary parent or shell address ie 24 High Street as opposed to Flat 1, 24 High Street.
A merged property will utilise the numbers of the original properties where premise numbers are used. For example, the merging of two properties at 4 High Street and 6 High Street or Unit 1 Trading Estate and Unit 2 Trading Estate will result in new addresses of 4-6 High Street and Unit 1-2 Trading Estates respectively.
The renaming of a street and renumbering of properties is a time consuming process and may incur costs and disruption to owners and residents. Renaming and numbering is usually a last resort and is normally only considered if consistent problems occur for the Emergency Services.
The renaming of a street may be proposed by an individual resident in an affected street, provided they can present a proposal letter with signatures of two thirds of owners on the street, or by the Emergency Services.
The cost of renaming streets including new street signage at the request of the Emergency Services shall be met by us.
Where renaming a street is at the request of a resident, or group of residents, the costs shall be borne by the residents or sponsor. The residents and/or sponsor will be asked to meet the following costs:
Administration charges to pay for the consultation on the proposed change.
The costs of re-signing the street ongoing signage maintenance costs thereafter will be met by the Council.
Occasionally we may decide that in order to improve the delivery of mail, and the routing of the Emergency Services, a street needs to be renamed and/or numbered. We will only do this after a full 28-day consultation with the owners of the affected properties (details about the consultation process are found in section 7.8 onwards). In these circumstances, all costs associated with renaming and numbering the street, including the erection of new street name plates, will be met by us.
Royal Mail may also approach us, where they believe there is an operational necessity to make changes to addresses. We will only make such changes where we believe there is a need, and after consultation with residents / owners of the properties affected.
Prior to any renaming and numbering of a street, the Street Naming and Numbering Officer shall conduct a full consultation with residents on the affected street, and with a number of other consultees, as deemed appropriate for the application.
A letter and form will be sent to all residents on the street and chosen consultees, outlining the reasons for and consequences of the proposed change. The consultation period will be 28 days.
All consulted parties are advised that Royal Mail may issue a new postcode for the street.
A report detailing the results of the consultation will be submitted to the officer with delegated powers who will determine whether or not to proceed with the change.
If the officer with delegated powers decides to proceed with a renaming and numbering proposal, we will issue a notice of intention to make an order for renaming of an existing street. This notice will be displayed at each end of the street or in a conspicuous position of the street, or part of street affected under Section 18 of the Public Health Act 1925. Notices must remain in place for one month before an order changing the name can be made. Any person(s) aggrieved by the intended order may make an appeal to the
Magistrates Court, within 21 days after the posting of the notice. If an appeal is made to the Magistrates Court, we must wait until the appeal is heard before approving any street name.
Reasons for not proceeding with a proposed change will be detailed in a letter to the residents and consultation list and may include, but are not restricted to:
We will advise the residents / owners of their new official address, and inform any interested parties.
When new developments have been allocated street names and a numbering sequence, and the developer has subsequently revised the site layout to either include or remove plots from the original layout, then a revised numbering scheme will be carried out to ensure a sequenced numbering scheme without the use of numbering suffixes. The exception to this is when potentially affected plots are already owned or occupied. In this situation, to avoid ‘change of address notices’ being issued to those occupied plots, the suffixes of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ etc will be added to adjacent numbers for the additional plots. Similarly where plots are deleted from an already numbered development with owned or occupied plots affected, then numbers will be deleted from the numbering scheme. Large scale revisions to layouts involving owned plots will be dealt with on an individual basis with address changes at our discretion. Revisions to site layouts, and the subsequent address revisions, will be subject to an administration fee listed on the charging schedule.
Names for Shopping Centres, Retail Parks, and Industrial Estates are subject to the same principles as those outlined in this document.
Commercial properties which contain multiple offices, office suites or units should ensure that each is uniquely identified preferably by a numbering scheme. For example Suite 1, Suite 2.
All commercial properties should be individually numbered or named apart from exceptional circumstance where the business or organisation name is the only way of uniquely identifying the property.