Background information

Under the Public Health Act 1925, it is the council’s responsibility to allocate house numbers and road names to new developments, as well as liasing with the Royal Mail to obtain postcodes for new properties.  The Greater Manchester Act 1981 empowers Salford City Council to allocate postal numbers to properties as it sees fit.

If a property is not “registered” the owner/occupier will encounter difficulties in obtaining goods and services from a variety of sources, for example applying for a credit card or obtaining goods by mail order. The reason for this is that the address would not appear on the main address database held by the Royal Mail and since it is this address information which is purchased by private companies, they will make an assumption that the subject property does not exist.

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 have to obtain approval from the council.

The reason for this is that confusion could arise with more than one property being known by the same name in the same road or vicinity.  Obviously this would also have implications for the emergency services in locating the property without undue delay.

Houses with postal numbers and a name

If you have a postal number for your property but wish to allocate a name as well, the name may only be used on an informal basis and will not be registered by the council. This is because omitting postal numbers in place of a name causes complications for deliveries as well as for the emergency services. You can erect a name plaque on your property and quote the name in the address along with the postal number, but your property will always be known by the number.

This page was last updated on 3 October 2009