We must create new addresses and road names to comply with national standards. Wherever possible new addresses will always be given a number in the existing street sequence so emergency services can easily find the property.
New address
When we create new property numbers and road names we will issue official documents to confirm the new addresses but because we are not responsible for the allocation of postcodes these documents will not contain postcodes.
Postcodes
Postcodes are created by Royal Mail. They are a sorting and routing instruction for Royal Mail to deliver items of mail quickly and accurately. Royal Mail will only allocate a postcode once they have been notified by the council of a new postal address.
Copies of our new address documents are sent to Royal Mails Address Management Unit who then allocate postcodes.
Activate a postcode
After Royal Mail allocate a postcode they add the new postal address into the Not Yet Built file (NYB). Only when a new property is built, occupied and can receive mail will Royal Mail update the address from the NYB file to the Postcode Address file (PAF)
See Royal Mail's information sheet (external link) on how to update an address from NYB to PAF.
National Address Gazetteer
Every new address and road name we create goes into our master address database, the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG). Every night our LLPG updates the National Address Gazetteer (NAG) to help fire, police and other government departments work together to provide efficient services.
Display your property number
When we allocate your new address you are legally required to mark your property with the allocated number (or name) in such a way as to make the mark legible from the street. If you do not do this organisations will find it difficult to find your property and you may suffer delivery problems.