Street naming and numbering

The address of a property is an important issue - police, emergency services, and the general public need a way of locating and referencing properties. If a property is not registered by our Naming and Numbering team it will not appear on Royal Mail's main address database which is used by emergency services, utility providers, and many other statutory and private companies, and will create difficulties for the owner. Your local council is the street naming and numbering authority for your area.

Salford City Council, as the statutory highway authority for the city, is responsible for the naming of streets and the numbering of properties throughout the city.

Requests for postal addressing must be made in the early stages of any new build. This is because utility companies are reluctant to install a service where an official postal address has not been allocated. You need to apply when building new properties or undertaking conversions of residential, commercial or industrial premises which will result in the creation of new properties or premises.

Changing a house name or adding a name to a numbered property

If your property has a name but no postal number, this is part of your official address, and you can apply to formally change the name. We will check the suggested name is not used by an existing property in the area and that it meets our policy requirements.

A property with a number must always use and display that number. Where a property has a name and an official number the number must always be included in the address and clearly displayed in a prominent position on the property and used in any correspondence. The name cannot be regarded as an alternative.

Provided your home already has a number, you can apply to add a name or change the existing name to an existing postal address. Royal Mail will register this as an ‘alias’ but it will not be part of your official address.

To find out more information, download our street naming and numbering policy below.

What happens when a street needs renaming or renumbering?

On rare occasions it becomes necessary to rename or renumber a street. This is usually only done as a last resort when:

1. There is confusion over a street's name and/or numbering
2. New properties are built in a street and there is a need for other properties to be renumbered to accommodate the new properties
3. The number of named-only properties in a street is deemed to be causing confusion for visitors and the delivery of emergency services

Report a problem with a street name sign

The council is also responsible for making sure that street name plates are provided and are fitted in suitable positions.

Report a problem with a street nameplate

This page was last updated on 29 September 2022