Street Naming and Numbering

Changes to street naming and numbering

Street Name and Numbering is carried out by the Borough Council under the Public Health Act 1925.

The address of a property is an increasingly important issue. It is vital that the emergency services and organisations can locate a property quickly and efficiently. We have the responsibility to maintain a Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG), which is a database of property addresses within Swale. The purpose of this control is to make sure that any new street names and building names and numbers are allocated logically. When a new or amended address has been approved we will inform the following:

Council Tax
Emergency Services
Kent Highways
Land Registry
Mid Kent Water
Ordnance Survey
Openreach
Southern Water
Valuation Office

Developers of new builds on large estates are advised to wait until the first level is completed before applying for Street Name and Numbering. View the Street Naming and Numbering Policy section 4 and download the application form for developers (PDF).

It is recommended that the developer consults with the local community, Parish/Town Council and local councillors for suggested road names. View the Street Naming and Numbering Policy section 4 and section 5.

Developers who are converting a property, or building a small number of properties where a new road name is not required, please read the information sheet. Download the application form for developers (PDF).

Residents who want to change/add a property name can do this Online.

Requests for changes can only be accepted from the owners of properties and not tenants. Anyone in the process of buying a house but does not like the property name, must wait until after the completion date of the house sale before applying to change it. For more information view the Street Naming and Numbering Policy section 8.

Fees and How to make a payment

New Road Name £53.00
New address or changing a property address £58.00
New Developments of 4 or more properties/units £30.00 each, minimum charge of £180.00

Note: Individual flats are charged as one new property/unit

By cheque made payable to Swale Borough Council. For card payments please call 01795 417850.

Postcodes

Royal Mail are responsible for issuing new postcodes. However, Royal Mail will not issue a postcode for a new street and property until requested to do so by the council. Swale Borough Council require planning permission to be granted before we can process the naming of streets or private dwellings.

Postcodes for commercial premises are allocated in the same way as residential premises, but a large company or business can apply to Royal Mail for its own code - known as a large user code.

Damaged or Missing Street Signs

Please contact our Customer Service Team to inform us of any damaged or missing residential street signs, contact customer services.

For all traffic or directional signs, please contact Kent County Council on 0300 333 5539 or visit the Kent Highways website.

For all brown tourist signs, please ring Jacobs on 01622 666120.

Contact us

Email: streetname@swale.gov.uk
Call: 01795 417343
Address:

Swale Borough Council,
Street Name and Numbering,
Swale House,
East Street,
Sittingbourne,
Kent ME10 3HT

Opening times

Monday - Thursday 8.45am - 5.00pm
Fridays 8.45am - 4.30pm