Street Naming and Numbering

Street Naming and numbering

The address of a property is a very important issue. A growing number of organisations, postal and emergency services, and the general public need an efficient means of locating and referencing properties.

Under Section 97 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 the Council may, in relation to any street or road to which the public have access in their area:

• give such name to it as they see fit;
• after advertising in a newspaper circulating in their area any proposal to alter its name and taking into account any representation thereupon made to them within 28 days after the date of the first publication of the advertisement, alter any such name;
• affix, paint or mark its name on any premises, fence, lamp post, pole or other structure in it so as to be readily legible to members of the public there, and erect poles or other structures for that purpose;
• give each of the premises in it such distinguishing number as they think fit; alter that number when necessary; and require the owner of each of the premises, by notice served on him, to affix or paint that number on his premises so that is readily legible from the nearest part of the public place giving access to the premises.

In short, this means that the Council is responsible for naming streets, erecting street name plates and changing the street name if required. The Council also numbers the properties on a street, and can require the owner to display the number, and change that number if necessary.

Property Numbering

Properties will generally be numbered with odd numbers on the left side of the street, and even numbers on the right. For cul-de-sacs where there is no possibility of the street being extended the numbering can be consecutive with Number 1 being the first property on the left.

Where new properties are built within an existing numbered street it is often necessary to use ABCs along with the adjoining property number (for example 10A, 10B, 10C...).

New Street Names

The developer should contact the Corporate Address Gazetteer (CAG) team at least 3 months before the first property will be occupied in a development requiring a new street name or names. Any proposed street name should be accompanied by a reason for the choice of name and details of any consultation that was undertaken e.g. with a local primary school or the community council.

The final decision on the street names rests with the local Councillor, but if there is disagreement between the local Councillor and the developer, the naming will be referred to the Area Committee.

Once the street name is agreed the CAG team will contact Royal Mail for a postcode, and notify other Council Departments, Emergency Services, utilities companies and any other interested parties.

New House Names

If a property is already numbered a property owner can additionally name their property without contacting the Council as long as it does not conflict with an existing property name in that locality. The property name in this case will not officially form part of the property address, and the property number must still be displayed and referred to in any correspondence. It is recommended that you do contact the council through the CAG team to let them know, although it is not required that you do so.

In many rural areas properties are not numbered and the property name will form part of the official address. In this case you must notify the Council through the CAG team if you have built a new property which is not numbered, or if you change the name of an un-numbered property.

When a request for a new house name is received Royal Mail will be contacted to confirm that there are no properties with a similar name in the same street or locality which may cause confusion for deliveries or emergency services. The Council will also check our own information systems, and if the name is satisfactory you will be informed. If there is an issue with your choice of name the Council may request that you provide alternatives.

Street Renaming and Renumbering

Streets are only renamed or renumbered as a last resort but it may be necessary if the existing name or numbering is causing confusion. This could be instigated by residents, visitors, delivery companies, utility companies or emergency services.

Corporate Address Gazetteer

The Council maintains a Corporate Address Gazetteer (CAG), which contains addresses for all properties in Argyll and Bute. The CAG is updated daily, and the CAG team should be contacted if you are building a new property, or looking to change the name or number of an existing property.

Each property is identified by a UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number). At present only Planning and Building Standards use the UPRN in their business applications, but increasingly other Council services will add the UPRN to their business data, and the UPRN will become the main link to property related council information.

The CAG can be searched by selecting the "Property Search" option on the Public Access part of the website. (Public Access is the our online Planning and Building Standards system.)

Contacts (CAG Team)

Allie MacKinnon
Corporate Gazetteers Technician
Development and Infrastructure Services
1A Manse Brae
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RD

Tel: 01546 604174
cag@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Graham Whitefield
GIS Manager
Development and Infrastructure Services
1A Manse Brae
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RD

Tel: 01546 604144
cag@argyll-bute.gov.uk