Correctly addressing a property is essential as relevant 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 Act 1982, it is our responsibility to allocate house numbers and street names to new developments and property conversions. Individuals and developers should not allocate their own house numbers, building or street names. A draft layout will be sent to the developer for comment.
Please note we will not take notice of superstition when naming and numbering streets. This means, for example, the number 13 will be included when numbering developments.
If a property is not registered with relevant organisations it will not appear on the main address database and the owner or occupier will have difficulty receiving mail, goods and services from a variety of sources, for example when applying for credit card or shopping online.
Recycling and waste collection services
To enable recycling and waste collection services to be provided for new properties, recycling and waste containers require to be purchased from us. A full set of containers will be provided at the point of occupancy to each property.
Developers will be required to notify the initial occupancy date per property to Cleaner Communities.
Who can apply
The following can apply:
- individuals or developers building new residential, commercial or industrial premises
- individuals or developers undertaking conversion of residential, commercial or industrial premises, which will result in the creation of new properties, or premises
When to apply
Once you have received full planning permission, you should apply for postal addresses in the early stages of any new build or conversion, because utility companies are reluctant to install services where an official postal address has not been allocated.
Payment at this stage also includes recycling and waste container provision.
How to apply
Please use the link below to access our application form:
Our East Ayrshire: Street names and numbering online application form
Fees
Fees to be charged for street naming and naming/numbering properties and recycling and waste containers are listed below.
Current fees
| Description | Fee |
|---|
| Naming of a new street |
£175 |
| Naming and numbering per property |
£80 |
| Naming/re-naming of a property/building after issuing notification (as for new properties) |
£80 |
| Re-numbering of historic address(es) and issuing of statutory notice(s) including change of property name |
£80 |
| Recycling and waste containers |
£128.13 |
Payment of fees
Payment can be made by BACS or telephone. More details can be found on the application form.
Please note, an application form will be issued once planning permission has been granted.
Allocation of new postal address and street name
Once a new postal address or street name is allocated, we notify all relevant statutory authorities and emergency organisations.
We contact Royal Mail to obtain postcodes for new properties. Royal Mail is responsible for allocation of postcodes. Royal Mail will not allocate a postcode unless they have received formal notification from us on a new address or street name.
We notify the following organisations:
- Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board
- Royal Mail
- West of Scotland Water Authority
- Scottish Power
- Scottish Ambulance Service
- Crosshouse Hospital
- BT New Sites
- British Gas
- NHS Ayrshire & Arran
- Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
- Fulcrum Pipelines
- Ordnance Survey
- Scotland Gas Networks
- Geography: National Records of Scotland
- Ayrshire Roads Alliance
- East Ayrshire Council's Planning and Economic Development, Cleaner Communities, Estates Manager, Housing
We must be notified by the developer/owner/occupier when a property is to be made 'live' on Royal Mail’s website.
This is to allow outside organisations to access the new address and to inform Cleaner Communities to enable the recycling and waste containers to be delivered to the property.
The address will also be added to the recycling calendar database to enable residents to access their recycling calendar.
Requests for new street names
Where new roads or streets are constructed, the naming process is undertaken by our Democratic Services.
The local community council where relevant may decide a name for the new street. In there is no local community council in the area, then the elected members for that ward would be asked to name the street.
Where possible, names are chosen to reflect the history of the site or acknowledge the geography of the area. To suggest street names in the same way as postal addresses, please request an application form.
Houses with names (no postal number allocated)
If your property has a name and not a postal number and you wish to change the name of the property, you will need our approval.
It could cause confusion if more than one property in the same road or vicinity has the same name. Emergency services could also be delayed in locating your property.
Houses with postal numbers and a name
If you have a postal number for your property and wish to give it a name as well, it may only be used on an informal basis and will not be registered by us.
Replacing a postal number with name causes problems for deliveries and emergency services.
You can display the name on your property next to your postal number, however, your property will always be formally known by the number.