Legal requirement: house numbers

[JumboBeef]

Thanks for the interesting replies.

The thing is, I don't care if you live at number 7, number 221B or at Pampas Grass Manor, as long as you have a sign which clearly shows it and which can be seen from the road.

Is that too difficult?

[TooMany2cvs]

JumboBeef said:

Thanks for the interesting replies.

The thing is, I don't care if you live at number 7, number 221B or at Pampas Grass Manor, as long as you have a sign which clearly shows it and which can be seen from the road.

Is that too difficult?

Ah, but the fun and games comes when you only have the address as Pampas Grass Manor, and are trying to find it - but you're parked outside number 11, and number 13 is to your right.

[catfood12]

Ha ! You want to go to the UAE ! Houses don't have numbers, often the complete address is just a postcode. Even the industrial estates. Try Finding Kebabs FZ-LLC in this lot.


https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Al+Quoz+Indust...

[Fish]

We don't have a number and the road we are on has no name either! The area also isn't marked on maps and the postcode is over 1/2 mile away...

That does make things difficult. Even the council refers to our road as the unnamed road..

[catso]

blueg33 said:

I would be interested to do a postcode search to see what it throws up.

Postcodes help but, my house shares a postcode with 4 others; 3 are essentially next door but the fourth is almost 1/2 a mile away, not in the village and totally on it's own.

Can almost guarantee that a 'new' courier/delivery driver will need to ask where the elusive 5th house is...

[Adrian E]

For anyone genuinely living in a remote location where finding it is a real challenge it might pay you to spend some time on Google Earth establishing the latitude and longitude of your driveway/property. Most sat navs give you the facility to enter data in compass/degrees/minutes/seconds or 'signed degrees' format. Keep it near the landline in case of emergency.

If you use Google Earth you can zoom in as much as you like to find your access and the relevent info is displayed at the bottom of the screen wherever you hover the cursor.

[akirk]

Adrian E said:

For anyone genuinely living in a remote location where finding it is a real challenge it might pay you to spend some time on Google Earth establishing the latitude and longitude of your driveway/property. Most sat navs give you the facility to enter data in compass/degrees/minutes/seconds or 'signed degrees' format. Keep it near the landline in case of emergency.

If you use Google Earth you can zoom in as much as you like to find your access and the relevent info is displayed at the bottom of the screen wherever you hover the cursor.

or try www.latlong.net
much simpler

[Adrian E]

akirk said:

or try www.latlong.net
much simpler

That's neat same principle in any case

[p1esk]

garyhun said:

blueg33 said:

Thanks, that's interesting. Hadn't thought of trying Claverdon, I chose Cotswold villages, so maybe there is a difference between authorities.


Doesn't change the fact that every new house we have built has to have a number, including in Wiltshire. There are many times when a name would have been preferable for us.

Any new house will typically follow the policy for the road - it would be highly unlikely for the Council to allow a house to have only a name on a road of numbered houses.

Indeed, and that's perfectly reasonable. However, where a property has a number (being the primary means of identification) councils should respect the wishes of those who like their homes to have a name, and add that name to the official address record, and use it.

By my reckoning, given that it is easy to comply with such a request from a property owner, and complying with it has no harmful effects, I think councils should co-operate with this. Unfortunately they don't, and neither, apparently, does the Royal Mail.

[blueg33]

Councils can be knobs.

I recall about 25 years ago, a developer won planning at appeal against the Councils decision. The council named all the streets and cul-de-sacs on the development after nazi war criminals. Not good for sales.

[anonymous-user]

blueg33 said:

Councils can be knobs.

I recall about 25 years ago, a developer won planning at appeal against the Councils decision. The council named all the streets and cul-de-sacs on the development after nazi war criminals. Not good for sales.

I cannot believe a council could be that dumb - got any details?

[blueg33]

garyhun said:

blueg33 said:

Councils can be knobs.

I recall about 25 years ago, a developer won planning at appeal against the Councils decision. The council named all the streets and cul-de-sacs on the development after nazi war criminals. Not good for sales.

I cannot believe a council could be that dumb - got any details?

Tbh it's a recollection of something I saw or read 25 years ago as I was starting in house building.

[marshalla]

blueg33 said:

garyhun said:

blueg33 said:

Councils can be knobs.

I recall about 25 years ago, a developer won planning at appeal against the Councils decision. The council named all the streets and cul-de-sacs on the development after nazi war criminals. Not good for sales.

I cannot believe a council could be that dumb - got any details?

Tbh it's a recollection of something I saw or read 25 years ago as I was starting in house building.

Debunked : http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4047500.Town...

[FiF]

Good advice above about having a handy crib sheet available showing various bits of information to help people locate you, lat/long, OS map reference and so on. Include a few emergency contacts too in case you aren't firing on all cylinders.

Can totally sympathise with the views of the emergency services and delivery services.

Historically, and thankfully no longer for me, the main difficulties I have had involved a situation where the resident broke the norm for the area. Two spring to mind.

Both involved "House name" "Road" etc when everyone else had numbers. The first one displayed the name OK, but the problem was that the 'road' consisted of numerous cul de sacs, signed at the end "ANOther Street, even numbers 100 - 110, " and so on. All narrow lanes, no turning places, nowhere handy to stop, quickest thing was to park up somewhere and walk to find Morgan Cottage or whatever. Confirming my prejudices, and as suggested by others, when located, the resident was indeed a complete bell end.

The second one was an ex council house, in a council estate, called Shell Cottage. There was no place showing the name, no place that you could deduce was likely to be it, eg shells on display, nothing. Turned out to be number 32.

[mph1977]

Adrian E said:

For anyone genuinely living in a remote location where finding it is a real challenge it might pay you to spend some time on Google Earth establishing the latitude and longitude of your driveway/property. Most sat navs give you the facility to enter data in compass/degrees/minutes/seconds or 'signed degrees' format. Keep it near the landline in case of emergency.

If you use Google Earth you can zoom in as much as you like to find your access and the relevent info is displayed at the bottom of the screen wherever you hover the cursor.

the 999 services in Lincolnshire used to suggest that as well as a 6 digit OS grid ref , also lat / long for potential HLS on your property should helimed be sent for an ambulance call

[Red Devil]

The house I lived in during my childhood is a mile from the nearest village and four miles from the post town. It dates from the reign of Elizabeth I and has never had a number. Not at the Land Registry, on RM's database, or in any local authority record. When we lived there a nameplate was totally unnecessary. Everybody in the surrounding area who needed to knew where to find it.

There are thousands of properties in rural areas across the UK which likewise only have names. Particularly farms.

[JumboBeef]

Red Devil said:

The house I lived in during my childhood is a mile from the nearest village and four miles from the post town. It dates from the reign of Elizabeth I and has never had a number. Not at the Land Registry, on RM's database, or in any local authority record. When we lived there a nameplate was totally unnecessary. Everybody in the surrounding area who needed to knew where to find it.

So, if your sister/mother/whoever went into cardiac arrest at 4 in the morning and you were being talked through CPR on the phone by the 999 call handler, would you still think a nameplate would be 'totally unnecessary' if I or my colleagues were outside with skills, drugs and equipment to help.......but we can't find your fecking house because it isn't displaying a name?

This is a scenario I and others have played out many times, sometimes loosing many minutes which will in certain cases mean the difference between living or dying.

Please make sure your house has its number or name on display and can be seen from the road.

[FiF]

JumboBeef said:

Red Devil said:

The house I lived in during my childhood is a mile from the nearest village and four miles from the post town. It dates from the reign of Elizabeth I and has never had a number. Not at the Land Registry, on RM's database, or in any local authority record. When we lived there a nameplate was totally unnecessary. Everybody in the surrounding area who needed to knew where to find it.

So, if your sister/mother/whoever went into cardiac arrest at 4 in the morning and you were being talked through CPR on the phone by the 999 call handler, would you still think a nameplate would be 'totally unnecessary' if I or my colleagues were outside with skills, drugs and equipment to help.......but we can't find your fecking house because it isn't displaying a name?

This is a scenario I and others have played out many times, sometimes loosing many minutes which will in certain cases mean the difference between living or dying.

Please make sure your house has its number or name on display and can be seen from the road.

Which is the basic point essentially, plus make sure the method of identification fits in with the general area method. Just because a nameplate or sign is unnecessary to locals completely misses the point, and identifies as someone who has never had to find an address in a completely strange location, whether under time pressure or not.

[g3org3y]

JumboBeef said:

Please make sure your house has its number or name on display and can be seen from the road.

This x100.

Today I wasted over 30 mins trying to find a house. Not a good use of my time.

Unfortunately being in the middle of nowhere with no mobile reception I was unable to call for clarification. This meant I had to drive back to work to get in touch with them to find where the bloody house was.

On attending, when I pointed out the lack of signage tbh they didn't seem bothered. "Everyone knows where we live". Evidently not. Thanks very much.

FiF said:

Which is the basic point essentially, plus make sure the method of identification fits in with the general area method. Just because a nameplate or sign is unnecessary to locals completely misses the point, and identifies as someone who has never had to find an address in a completely strange location, whether under time pressure or not.

Edited by g3org3y on Monday 23 May 21:31

[Red Devil]

JumboBeef said:

Red Devil said:

The house I lived in during my childhood is a mile from the nearest village and four miles from the post town. It dates from the reign of Elizabeth I and has never had a number. Not at the Land Registry, on RM's database, or in any local authority record. When we lived there a nameplate was totally unnecessary. Everybody in the surrounding area who needed to knew where to find it.

So, if your sister/mother/whoever went into cardiac arrest at 4 in the morning and you were being talked through CPR on the phone by the 999 call handler, would you still think a nameplate would be 'totally unnecessary' if I or my colleagues were outside with skills, drugs and equipment to help.......but we can't find your fecking house because it isn't displaying a name?

This is a scenario I and others have played out many times, sometimes loosing many minutes which will in certain cases mean the difference between living or dying.

Please make sure your house has its number or name on display and can be seen from the road.

As it happens we had cause to need attendance by the fire brigade and an ambulance during the time I lived there. Both (separate) incidents were after dark and long before the days of satellites/GPS/online mapping and in neither case was there any difficulty at all in finding our house.

I have no idea what location aids you use but the house has been marked by name on Ordnance Survey maps from long before I was born.
I take your point though as that won't be the case for many (most?) rural properties.