Street naming and numbering
Legal responsibilities
The statutory duty of street naming and numbering is carried out under legislation using the Public Health Act 1925: Sections 17 - 19 and the Town Improvement Clauses Act 1847: Sections 64 - 65.
This gives Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils the legal responsibility to ensure that all streets are named and all properties are numbered.
Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils have the right to approve or reject street naming and numbering proposals from developers, other organisations and the general public. All addresses must conform to the national address standard BS7666-2006.
Both residential and commercial properties fall under the remit of street naming and numbering.
Under the Local Government Act 2003: Section 93, both councils reserve the right to charge for discretionary services.
Street Nameplate Maintenance
To report damaged or missing street nameplates in the Lewes District or Eastbourne Borough, please telephone our Customer First Team on 01323 410000 and ask for the Neighbourhood First Department who look after this area.
Street Naming and Numbering (SNN)
You may apply to change the name of your property or business, register new addresses (including conversions and sub-divisions of existing properties) and register new developments with streets.
Applications for developments must be accompanied by site plans on a scale of 1:1250 and clearly display the plot numbers. Where there are to be flats or individual properties on more than one level, floor plans with plot numbers are also required.
Any suggestions for street names should follow a theme or reflect the history of the area (where relevant) and not duplicate others in existence locally. In the Lewes district, it is this council's policy to consult the town or parish council regarding street names before any names are finalised. Marketing names do not always become part of the official address.
It is the responsibility of this council to allocate the postal numbering to the development and to assign the street name suffix, eg: road, way, close. New properties in streets where there are existing postal numbers will be allocated a number accordingly. Sometimes this means a number with a letter suffix, eg: 16A. Full information can be found in the Street Naming and Numbering Policy.
Fees (from 1st April 2021)
- Change a property (residential / commercial) name £50
- Change existing large building name (containing flats / commercial units) £100
- Alteration to official SNN by developer after confirmation £350
- Register one new address £50
- Register new development with streets £50 per plot
- Confirmation of address (legal / conveyancing) £25
Property Name Changes
Please use for Business properties too:
New Addresses and Developments
Send your application and supporting documents using our online form:
Confirmation of address
If you need proof of address to allow companies to update their records then you can apply for a Confirmation of Postal Address. This may be required by banks or insurance companies.
Share this page
