Street Naming

Street naming criteria

  • All highways, including access ways or cul-de-sacs off main spine roads within estates, must have separate names. Street extensions should have the same name as the original.
  • Names must be not the same or sound similar to any existing street within the local area. This includes assigning the same name and just changing the suffix e.g. Birch Road, Birch Avenue, Birch Close.
  • Ideally, names should have a proven relevance to the history or local geological features of the area or they should commemorate past industries or deceased local personalities. Any personality must have made a significant contribution to the community either at a national, regional or local level or have a historical connection to the land being developed. The local library should be able to provide advice regarding the history of an area if you have difficulty choosing an appropriate name.
  • Themes may be used for the naming of a network of streets within a development, but they should still have some relevance to the local area.
  • So that names can be easily understood over the telephone in the even of an emergency, they should generally have no more than three syllables, they should not be difficult to spell or pronounce and they should not contain any form of punctuation.
  • Names that could be construed to be offensive or those that give the impression that the area is in some way unappealing should be avoided.
  • No street name should start with 'The'.
  • Street names must end with one of the suffixes given in the table below:
Suffix Applicable Road Type
Avenue Any Road
Chase Cul-de-sac
Close Cul-de-sac
Crescent Crescent shaped road
Drive Any road
Gardens Any road, provided there is no confusion with any local open space
Green A courtyard, provided there is no confusion with any local open space
Grove Small road or cul-de-sac
Hill For hill roads only
Lane Any road
Mead Only acceptable in appropriate circumstances. Please contact us to discuss
Mews Cul-de-sac
Place Any road
Rise Residential roads with steep gradients
Road Any road
Row Only acceptable in appropriate circumstances. Please contact us to discuss
Street Any road
Square For a square only
Terrace A terrace of houses but NOT as a subsidiary name within another road
View Only acceptable in appropriate circumstances. Please contact us to discuss
Way Any - except cul-de-sac

Other suffixes will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please contact us to discuss.

  • All suffixes should be given very careful consideration so that they do not give a false impression of the location.
  • Some suffixes may also be incorporated in street names that end with another suffix (e.g. Park View Road)