5.1. The Council is not permitted to charge for the service of street naming and numbering as the duty to provide is a statutory one. However, the Council is empowered to charge for elements of the naming and numbering service (commonly known as discretionary services) by virtue of Section 64 and 65 of the 1847 Act coupled with Section 93 of the 2003 Act.

5.2. Discretionary services are those services that The Council has the power but not a duty to provide. It may charge where the person who receives the service has agreed to its provision, and that the charge must not exceed the cost of providing the service.

5.3. The charges made cover the administration costs of:

• Pre-application discussions with Town/Parish Councils to help formalise a definitive list of approved street names;
• Consultation and liaising with external organisations such as Royal Mail.
• Checking that the relevant Planning and Building Control approvals have been obtained.
• The process of naming or numbering of new properties (including conversions and alias).
• Alterations in either name or numbers to new developments after initial naming and numbering has been undertaken.
• Providing formal notification to organisations listed in Appendix B.
• Confirmation of addresses.
• Pre-application discussions and full consultation process with all affected rate payers and Town/Parish Councils in the case of changing an existing street name.

5.4. All charges are to be paid in full prior to changes/notifications being made.

5.5. Changes made without contacting the Council will not be officially recognised and as such will not be registered with either the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) or the Postcode Address File (PAF). Furthermore, details will not be forwarded to the services and organisations listed in Appendix B.

5.6. Fees and charges applicable to the street naming and numbering services will be reviewed annually during the Council’s budget setting process and publicised through the Council’s agreed communication channels including the website.

5.7. Applicants should ensure that care is taken not to pay fees before it is established that the address is within the correct local authority boundary find your local council. A handy guide is the local authority to which Council Tax or Non-Domestic Rates is paid.