The address of a property is important for postal deliveries and the emergency services, as well as for the public as an efficient means of locating and referencing properties. You are legally obliged to clearly display your house number and it is essential that your address and postcode are correctly used.

We have the legal responsibility of addressing all properties both residential and commercial, along with the creation of addresses for new properties and to maintain a good standard of street name plates.

New property addresses

All new properties require an official address. We aim to contact the developer once we are aware that the development is underway. Should you wish to contact us prior to this, please complete our new address enquiry form.

New address enquiry form


Should your development include a new street, or additional street signage is considered necessary then the street name plates will be supplied and erected by us.

Addressing new properties, including the naming of new streets, numbering of properties and street nameplates is chargeable. Please see the table of charges on this page.

Property numbering

You are legally required to use the official address issued by us for your property and clearly display the property number (or name if no number is allocated) on your property.  This is important for:

  • the emergency services
  • receiving post
  • your visitors

It is recommended that property numbers/names should be:

  • at least 100mm in height
  • on a contrasting background
  • clearly visible from the road

You may need to consider displaying additional property number/names at the boundary and a light for visibility. It is always good to look at your property in the eyes of someone who has not visited it previously. Check it is possible to see the displayed property number/name in both daylight and in the dark, and it is possible to identify the address of your property.

Property names

If a property is already numbered, the property owner can unofficially add, change or remove the name of their property without contacting us. Any new name should not conflict with any existing property names in the locality. However, the property number must still be displayed as this is a legal obligation and must be referred to in all correspondence.

Should you wish for your property name to be recorded as part of your official postal address, or to remove or change a name previously recorded for your address, you can contact us using our property name application form:

Property name application form


Street name signs

The purpose of a street name plate is to identify the street and must be used together with clearly visible property numbering. To report problems with a street name plate, please use the street name plate request form:

Street name plate request form


Please note that it is an offence to attach any notice or advertisement to a street name plate.

Fees

Item Charge
Adding/changing/removing property names (commercial and residential) £59.30
Naming of new streets £176.80
Numbering of 1 new property £59.30
Numbering of 2 to 5 new properties £89.45
Numbering of 6 to 10 new properties £117.50
Numbering of 11 to 25 new properties £176.80
Numbering of 26 to 50 new properties £295.35
Number of 51 to 100 new properties £473.20
Numbering of over 101 properties £589.70 (add £11.70 for each over 101)
Confirmation of address £29.10
Development renumbering after a site layout change £113.40 (add £11.70 per property)
Address issue or confirmation following a property demolition and rebuild £57.70 per property
One new street sign £265.20 per street
Two new street signs £383.75 per street
Additional junction and entrance signs £117.50 per sign
Challenge/request/change existing street naming or numbering Price of request

Wrongly delivered post

Find out what to do if you receive someone else’s mail on the Post Office website.

We are responsible for creating new addresses and maintaining good standards of street name signs. See the legal standards we must follow:

The Public Health Act 1925 Sections 17-19
Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 Sections 64 and 65

Contact us

You can contact the Street Naming and Numbering team by:

Telephone: 01353 665555
Email: stnn@eastcambs.gov.uk 
Post: Please mark for the attention of the Street Naming and Numbering Team, East Cambridgeshire District Council, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4EE