Street naming criteria and application guidance

Street naming applications should be submitted by the developer of the street and must be accompanied by:

• a site plan including the layout of the site, any future phases that will be linked to the site, any properties that will be built on the site and a north arrow
• a location plan identifying the outline of the development in relation to existing structures and roads, including a north arrow
• a minimum of two suggested names per street
• an explanation of why those names have been selected.

West Suffolk Council encourages discussion between the developer and the parish council before the street naming application is submitted to give the parish council an opportunity to make the developer aware of any preferences or suggestions that they may have.

Street naming themes are encouraged on large developments. For developments that are split into phases with different developers responsible for each phase, the theme will be determined during the first street naming application for the development.

New street names must:

• end with a suffix that distinguishes the street from a building or locality name. The following list is not exhaustive and sometimes other suffixes are more appropriate:
  • Street
  • Road
  • Way (streets and pedestrian ways)
  • Avenue
  • Drive
  • Grove
  • Gate
  • Lane
  • Gardens (subject to there being no confusion with local open space)
  • Place
  • Crescent (for a crescent shaped road only)
  • Close (for a cul-de-sac only)
  • Square (for a square only)
  • Hill (for a hill only)
  • Circus (for a large roundabout)
  • Vale
  • Rise
  • Row
  • Mews
  • Path (for pedestrian ways only)
  • Walk (for pedestrian ways only)
• be easily identifiable without ambiguity or confusion
• allow emergency services to locate the street quickly in an emergency
• allow mail and goods to be delivered successfully
• allow visitors to locate where they want to go.

New street names must not:

• be the same or similar to the marketing name for the development, or the developer’s name
• be construed to be used as advertising or marketing or commercial gain
• be, look or sound similar or the same as another street name within two postal towns. Names such as Church and Birch would be considered too similar. A variation of the street suffix does not provide sufficient distinction.
• be, look or sound the same or similar to another street within a phonetically similar town, village or postal town, for example West Stow and West Row. A variation of the street suffix does not provide sufficient distinction.
• cause offence or be considered rude obscene, discriminatory, racist, controversial or contravene any of West Suffolk Council’s equal opportunities policy either on their own or in combination with property numbers
• be named after any person
• be difficult to pronounce or spell
• not end in such a way that makes it plural or possessive
• not start with ‘A’ or ‘The’ as this causes problems for emergency services
• contain any punctuation or special characters
• contain more than 30 characters including the suffix
• contain more than 4 words, including the suffix
• include numbers that could cause confusion, for example 20 Seven Foot Lane sounds the same as 27 Foot Lane.

The consent of the Lord Chamberlain’s office must be obtained if a street name will have any reference to the Royal Family, the use of the work ‘Royal’ or any other protected Royal titles. West Suffolk Council will request this consent following a successful street consultation. If a proposed street name will require consent from The Lord Chamberlain’s office, it should be accompanied through the consultation process with an additional name in case consent is not granted.

Street names should not be given to anybody until West Suffolk Council have confirmed the adoption of the name.