OpenStreetMap
I’ve been reading up on the guidlines that Colchester Borough Council publish on how they manage addresses and create address for new buildings. Here’s a summary of the interesting points.
Rules for Existing Addresses
- Under Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, Section 65 the occupiers of a house are required to show the house number, and replace it if it become unreadable. If they fail to do so a house number will be added whether they like it or not, which they’ll then be charged for, and fined £20.
- Under Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, Section 64 anyone who puts up the wrong house number will be fined £25. Anyone who damages house numbers or street names will also be fined £25.
Rules for New Street Names
- No duplicate street names in the whole Borough, even if in different towns or villages.
- No similar street names in the same town/village. This includes street names that differ by thoroughfare type, e.g. Butterworth Drive and Butterworth Road, and phonetically similar names, e.g. Willows Avenue and Winnows Avenu.
- Simple spelling. Words of more than three syllables should be avoided. Street names can’t start with “The”, and preferably be no more than two words long. Words can’t end in “s” to avoid ambiguity between possessive or plural. All punctuation, including apostrophes, shall be avoided.
- Do not cause offense. Street names that may be considered or construed as obscene, racist, sexist, etc. are not allowed. Streets won’t be named after living people to prevent elitism. Street names that could be graffitied or shortened into something offensive should be avoided.