Address and Council

[DaveBrigg]

To make things more confusing, streets were sometimes renumbered, so what was once number 6 might now be number 8. Our house has been Church Farm for at least 160 years. Just before we moved here, a new house built on land formerly part of the farm was named 'Church Farm House'. The owners complained one day when they brought us another lot of misdelivered mail, and suggested we change the name. They had apparently had their house name approved by the Post Office. To make things more confusing, Church Street has no name sign, only exists for about 100 metres of a much longer road, and even some people who had lived in the village for 50 years were unaware of its existance.

The matter becomes more serious when the emergency services are involved. The ambulance service in this county appealed for houses to be more clearly signposted, since valuable time is sometimes lost driving round in circles within a postcode area.

 

[Penners]

Just out of interest...

We have friends who live just outside a small town in France. A couple of years ago their address was changed from (and this is fictional for obvious reasons):

La Ferme
Rue des Vignes
12345 Clochemerle
France

to:

La Ferme
98765 Rue des Vignes
12345 Clochemerle
France

In actual fact, all the postman needs in order to deliver a letter are the two sets of numbers. 12345 is the number of the region and the town combined (12 and 345), and 98765 is the number of the house within that town. Every building has its own unique number. So their address is:

98765
12345
France

Efficient, but lacking a certain charm, which is why everyone elects to combine their old address in with the new system.

 

[Jon Maine]

It annoys me that the French are so capable of efficiency at times.

The Norman Foster bridge meeting in the middle within a half inch or so tolerance made me curse at them being so bloody efficient at times. This is probably because the English spend so much time arguing about liabilities of their cock ups.

 

[Flyfisher]

In the USA (well, rural Maryland at least), the house numbering can run into 5 figures even though the house numbers do not. When questioning this, it was explained to me that the numbers represented the distance from a junction (in feet or yards - I can't remember which). Apparently, this is to help the emergency services know how far along a road the house is located. Interesting idea. Their highway junction numbers work on a similar principle using miles for the junction numbers.

In Japan (in Tokyo at least), many people have maps on their business cards showing their location. It was explained to me that this was because buildings are often numbered in historical order. The first building in a street would be 1, the second would be 2 etc etc. This is fine (sort of) until infilling occurs and completely wrecks the system.

 

[middi]

If a grade II* building has such an historical significance to warrant it's status then it my opinion it should be addressed as it was originally intended . I can understand that places evolve, develop and expand hence, perhaps, it does not fulfill the robotic binary attitude of the housing computerised system.
You can call your house what you like Jon unfortunately the council want to make things easy for themselves by given it a number.

( I wonder what No. is buckingham palace :wink:

 

[Craig]

Jon - there is a new government agency responsible for keeping the "Official" list of addresses. I cant remember its name but will search - local authorities are supposed to defer to them, as they will maintain a single correct (!) database. I rang them to check mine - they said they werent supposed to speak to people but confirmed my details were entered correctly.

However, I think the land registry is definitive for house and street names/numbers, not the local authority (though they may claim this right for new development? Not sure) - what does your title deed say?

But, for post codes, I believe the post office is definitive.

Both the land registry and the post office can act in a sensible manner - you can write to them to correct mistakes or confusion. I did this for my house with both - the land registry had incorporated a former commercial occupiers name into the address, whilst the post code was wrong. Both of these bodies sell "official" databases - what all those web sites and junk mailers use - so if you get this right, for 99% of purposes your address will become what you want - eventually. People dont refresh their databases that often...

We ended up with a position where the only bodies using the wrong post code were the local authority and the parking permit people - and since this new government body has the right address, I figure in 10 years, all will be well.

So I would start my maybe writing to the land registry and saying they have the address wrong - if they do, that is. If they have it right, then straight on to the PO. Your LA can be the last stop - after all, all they do is post you your council tax bill!

 

[AMc]

Our street was only numbered a few years back at the request of the ambulance service. As outline planning permission was given for 3 dwellings at our address we have "number - +4 our road". Our venerable house name is relegated to an optional extra. I discovered when checking the postcode prior to purchase that I could enter more or less anything I liked in the house name on the Royal Mail postcode checker as long as the numbers and street were correct I got a "valid" address. As a result the bank had us down as a house not a cottage until we remortgaged.

I recently got a vaguely rude letter from the water company addressed to "the cottage + the numbers and road" address asking where my water came from and went to - implying that we were stealing services. A glance at the bill shows they're still billing against the name and street even though they've fitted a modern water meter and changed the account to my name 2 years ago. Seems like Anglian Water refresh their database very infrequently, even when they change bill payer.

 

[Penners]

the bank had us down as a house not a cottage until we remortgaged.

I'm not sure I understand that significance of that. Actually, I'm also not sure when a house becomes a cottage, and vice versa.

To be a cottage, does it have to have roses round the door and a thatched roof? :wink:

 

[Craig]

To be a cottage, does it have to have roses round the door and a thatched roof?

Or axes?

 

[Jon Maine]

It is with the land registry as 8 Market Place.

I have spoken to a friend in the conservation dept who has spoken to the "addressing man" and now it seems unlikely that he will try to change it, although he suggested that the post office may wish to.

 

[Penners]

I should tell the Post Office that they can change your address, on condition that you can change theirs.

 

[MdB]

So exactly where is your house? Numbers 1 to 7 Market Place and Number 9 to 12 Market Place seem to be in a nice arc around the square. Is your place where it says "PCs" on the map or somewhere else entirely?

 

[Craig]

Or is that the market place itself has been encroached and so now your house no longer fronts onto it? I think this is quite common as traders stalls eventually become buildings - this has occured at Salisbury, where the large market place now has several streets running over it.

From looking at the picture's of Jon's house on the website, I'd guess its on Regal Road, on the eastern side at the top end - the buiding that has the word "Hall" written to its right?

 

[MdB]

If Craig is correct then an address of "8 Market Place, Regal Road, Shepton Mallet" would sound appropriate to me. It keeps the history and also identifies where the house is.

 

[Jon Maine]

From looking at the picture's of Jon's house on the website, I'd guess its on Regal Road, on the eastern side at the top end - the buiding that has the word "Hall" written to its right?

Yes, that is us, technically the area around the pcs section on the map is still Market place too.

It will be interesting to see their proposals for the address when they surface.

All of this for wanting to confirm the postcode!!

 

[Craig]

You must have lovely views of the church.

I spotted it due to the noticeable gables over the windows which you can see on google maps.

 

[Flyfisher]

Address and map databases don't seem to be very well coordinated. We regularly get phone calls from frustrated delivery drivers saying they're in the village but can't find us. This is because our lane is on some maps but not others. If their GPS system doesn't have the right map it directs the driver to the nearest point, even though access from that point is only via a footpath and actually requires a half-mile drive to the house. One memorable conversation had the driver completely losing his rag and shouting at me down the phone that the house wasn't where it should have been. I merely pointed out that I was fairly sure the house hadn't moved in the last 450 years so it might possibly be his GPS system at fault.

 

[shelli]

as a complete aside - what does pcs on a map mean ? - s'probably dead obvious
shelli X

 

[Gareth Hughes]

as a complete aside - what does pcs on a map mean ? - s'probably dead obvious
shelli X

Public Conveniences.

or Pedestrian Crossing(s)
or Police Constables, if they stand still long enough
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/aboutus/reports/misc/abbreviations.html

 

[Penners]

our lane is on some maps but not others. If their GPS system doesn't have the right map it directs the driver to the nearest point, even though access from that point is only via a footpath and actually requires a half-mile drive to the house.

The one time that I tried relying on sat-nav to find you, I found myself in a bungalow wilderness. As is invariably the case with GPS, I had no memory of how I got there, or how to get out again. I ended up looking for a bungalow for sale, where I could start a new life.

I'm a great believer in that wonderful one-liner from American comedienne, Rita Rudner:

I never get lost. I just change where I want to be.