Street Naming and Numbering

The Council deals with the naming and numbering of new streets and individual properties and any change to a property name.

To register or change an address with Torridge District Council, you must:

• Prove ownership of the property with title deeds or a land registry document  
• Provide a site plan indicating the position of the property
• Have full planning consent for all new builds
• Pay the appropriate fee

The fees cover the costs of providing information to Royal Mail, and other organisations such as the Emergency Services and HM Land Registry.

If you need to check an address, we suggest you use Royal Mail's online Postcode Checker. They can also be contacted via telephone.

Please see our Street Naming & Numbering Notification List for details on who this service informs.

Please note that all applications take a minimum of 30 working days* from the date of receipt to process, but may take longer depending on the complexity of the application.

Confirmation of Address Letters

The council charges a £38.00 fee to confirm the address of a property.

To request an address confirmation letter, please contact the Estates Department using the details below:

Email: corporate.property@torridge.gov.uk

Postal Address: Estates Department, Torridge District Council, Riverbank House, Bideford, EX39 2QG

Application for Cosmetic Change to Address (SN1)

Follow this procedure to change names of existing properties:

• Complete the SN1 Application Form, linked in the Apply section
• We'll check to ensure there is no other property in the locality with the same name
• Subject to no issues being found, we'll inform Royal Mail and other services of the change

Notes

• We strongly recommend against similar sounding names.
• Under no circumstances will a name be allowed which is offensive.
• If the property has a number, it is not possible to replace it with a name although we will allow an 'alias' name to be added.
• For further guidance please refer to our Street Naming & Numbering Policy.

Fees

A fee of £58.00 applies when changing the name of an existing property. Where an application affects multiple units, the charge is £58.00 per unit.

Apply

Please note that requests can only be accepted from the owner of the property

Start now (cosmetic change)

Please see the notice at the top of this page before applying.

Application for New Postal Address (SN2) 

Follow this procedure for new properties / developments:

• Complete form SN2 (available to print or word format which can be completed electronically).
• Applications will need to provide a digital site plan in the form of a geo-referenced .dwg file
• We'll inform Royal Mail and other services
• Royal Mail will add the address to the 'Not Yet Built' file.
• The address will go 'live' when the property becomes occupied.

Please note that you should only apply for property addresses once construction has begun.

You must provide the planning application reference which corresponds to the properties being constructed.

If you submit an alteration to the planning permission that authorises the construction, or if you construct the properties under a different planning permission, the new addresses allocated as part of your case will be invalidated and you will forfeit the application fee. You will also be required to apply and pay again.

If the application is submitted early, your case will be put on hold until the Council's Building Control Team informs us that the construction of buildings has begun.

For further guidance please refer to our Street Naming & Numbering Policy.

Fees

There is a fee of £88.00 per application, plus a fee per property, which varies depending on the number of properties

• 1 to 10 units - £15.00 per unit.
• 11 to 100 units - £8.00 per unit.
• 100+ units - £1.80 per unit.

Apply

Please note that you must finalise your planning permission before you apply, as you will be asked for the planning reference covering the new properties in the application.

Street Naming & Numbering relies on this information to correcly record which street the address opens onto (determined by the position of the front door), to record new road layouts, and also to record the number and types of property (details of this can be found on the form).

Any planning applications that alter these facts may void any addresses allocated under a previous planning permission. Applications submitted while a new planning permission is under consideration will cause the address application to be put on hold until the planning decision is issued.

Start now (new postal address)

Please see the notice at the top of this page before applying.

* The Torridge District Council normal working days are Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. The Council is also closed on public holidays and during the Christmas / new year period. Information supplied outside of working days, on public holidays, or during the Council's annual Christmas / new year closure will be considered as being received on the next working day.