ALLOCATION OF POSTCODES BY ROYAL MAIL

The responsibility for the allocation of a postcode falls to Royal Mail.   However they will not issue a postcode for a new street unless requested to do so by the Council.

Address Management Unit,
Royal Mail,
Admiral House,
Admiral Way,
Doxford International Business Park,
SUNDERLAND,
SR3 3XW

The purpose of a Postcode

The prime purpose of a postcode is to assist Royal Mail in the sorting of mail to be delivered by its own workforce.   The data is sold by Royal Mail to other organisations that use it for billing, utility connections, credit checks, insurance and delivery by other carriers.    The data is also used in satellite navigation systems and other mapping systems.   Whilst its prime purpose is still valid the use of a postcode for these other purposes can lead to problems.   The problems are particularly evident in relation to emergency services.    The postcode is linked to the postal address which not necessarily an adequate description of the location of a property, e.g. properties in Marbury near Nantwich in Cheshire have a postal address of Whitchurch, Shropshire.   In addition many postal addresses do not include street names.     Royal Mail also allocates a different postcode to a building with several units, e.g. a block of flats or offices, with the result that a postcode is located within the area covered by another postcode.

Consultation with Royal Mail

On receipt of a street naming or property naming application the Borough Council consults Royal Mail for 2 reasons:-

• To obtain Royal Mail’s view on any building names to be allocated i.e. is there any confusion between the proposed names and others in the locality.
• To obtain a Royal Mail postcode

Street names are decided by the Development Control Committee of the Borough Council.    After street names are agreed properties are numbered and linked to the postcode allocated by Royal Mail.

Approval of the numbering is issued to the applicant and the properties are added to the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and uploaded to the National Gazetteer database.   Royal Mail is notified of the approved addresses.

Activation of postcodes

Royal Mail enters all new properties, name changes and amendments on their “Not yet built” file.   This data is not added to the Postal Address File on their web site until the postcode is activated.    A postcode can be activated when the property is complete and ready for mail delivery.    Royal Mail requires confirmation that the properties are completed / occupied before additions are made to the Postal Address File.    This can cause problems for utility connections which are required prior to completion and occupation.

It is the applicants/developers responsibility to notify Royal Mail to activate the postcodes.    As the development proceeds contact the Address Development Centre at Sunderland on 08456 04 50 60 (Option 3) or FAX 08456 05 44 33 to activate the postcodes for connection of services or on completion / occupation of each plot.

Changes to addresses and postcodes

The Borough Council creates addresses according to British Standard BS 7666 which requires a street name as a mandatory field.    In some existing Royal Mail addresses a locality name is used.    When new addresses are added to the street Royal Mail will often change the entries of existing addresses in the Postal Address File and may allocate a new postcode.   This is not at the request of the Borough Council.

Queries about postcodes can be dealt with by the Royal Mail by contacting them on their postcode enquiry line 08457 111 222 or visiting their website: http://www.postcodes.royalmail.co.uk/

If you have delivery problems telephone the Royal Mail's Customer Service Centre - 0845 7740 740.