At the Cabinet meeting held in June, the draft Street Naming and Property Numbering Policy (SNPN) was referred to officers for amendment in three key areas as follows:

a.   clarity over the decision-making process and appeals procedure;

b.   requiring consultation with Parish and Town Councils part of the policy; and

c.   reviewing options for charging for the registration.

The draft SNPN Policy now incorporated these changes and proposed a charging system that was in-line with those implemented by some authorities and Cabinet was requested to recommend the revised Policy to Council as set out at Appendix A to the report.  

The SNPN Policy changes were mostly administrative, largely around the increasing use of digital technology to support submission of on-line applications.  Improvements had also been made throughout the document to aid general understanding and to reflect the changing technology incorporated into Council processes.   

The process for Appeals and Complaints had also been refined with the Licensing and General Purposes Committee listed as the Council’s secondary escalation point following a decision by the Street Naming and Property Numbering Officer.

Members were pleased to see the amendments that had been made, particularly the liaison with the Parish and Town Councils across the district who were now actively involved in deciding new street names within their localities.  Whilst liaison with local Ward Members was not expressly set out in the Policy, Members were able and encouraged to contact the Street Name and Numbering Officer to put forward suggestions when new local developments were being planned. 

RECOMMENDED: That:

1)    the revised Street Naming and Property Numbering Policy be approved and adopted; and

2)    the Functions and Responsibilities of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee be amended to include the determination of appeals under the Public Health Act 1925, Sections 17 - 19, with regard to Street Naming and Numbering.