Although district and unitary councils have statutory powers to name streets and number properties, they are not derived from one single legislative Act of Parliament. Councils usually exercise this statutory power through one or more of several Acts. Even though the role of the Street Naming and Numbering (SNN) officer is important, at present, there is little documentation available to enable SNN officers to enact best practice in this area and promote Good Addressing.
GeoPlace has been working closely with the Street Naming and Numbering officer community over many years to provide guidance for Street Naming and Numbering officers. We are supporting the development of an SNN officer community which will be managed through the existing Data Co-operation Agreement (DCA) governance arrangements which will ensure that the future direction and control of the community will be guided and shaped by the community itself.
The overall aim of the community is to:
- promote a Good Addressing vision and strategy
- develop best practice and training options for SNN officers
- provide community cohesion
- raise awareness of the role of SNN
- provide a focus for SNN officers nationally
- provide proposals for harmonising SNN processes, including statutory powers
- provide proposals for suitable SNN guidance documentation including possible changes to the DEC-Addresses, codes of practice, policy and statutory powers reference material
- provide aggregated feedback from the sector
- harmonise SNN processes and common communication channels, in particular with GeoPlace, Royal Mail, property developers and members of the public for address and street name requests and queries
- provide proposals for induction, awareness and guidance and training options for SNN officers
- develop a five-year action plan of possible achievements and deliverables benefiting all SNN officers in the context of a good addressing vision and strategy.
GeoPlace also facilitates an active Group on the Knowledge Hub area for SNN officers to provide support, advice and ask questions around SNN activities. Further information and papers from the Working Group are available on the Knowledge Hub.
