Consultation outcome

Technical consultation on street naming

Updated 5 July 2022

Applies to England

Scope of the consultation

Topic of this consultation:

The current system for street naming relies upon three Acts which date from the early 20th century and create nationally inconsistent and unclear procedures for changing street names. The government is considering legislation to ensure there is a common requirement across England for votes on proposed changes of street names and is interested in views on how this would be implemented.

Scope of this consultation:

This technical consultation seeks views on the content of regulations (which may be supplemented by statutory guidance) on street naming, that would be needed to help deliver this change.

Geographical scope:

These proposals relate to England only.

Impact assessment:

The government will have regard to the potential impact of any proposal on the Public Sector Equality Duty, as well as any potential impacts on business, local authorities, and communities. The government will consider these impacts as part of the wider forthcoming legislation.

Basic Information

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation:

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Duration:

This consultation will last for 6 weeks and run from Monday 11 April 2022 to Sunday 22 May 2022.

Enquiries:

For any enquiries about the consultation please contact: Streetnamingconsultation@levellingup.gov.uk

How to respond:

You may respond by using our online survey

We strongly encourage responses via the online survey. All members of the public are invited to respond, along with organisations such as local authorities, representative bodies, and businesses. Using the online survey greatly assists our analysis of the responses, enabling more efficient and effective consideration of the issues raised for each question.

Alternatively you can email your response to the questions in this consultation to: Streetnamingconsultation@levellingup.gov.uk

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which questions you are responding to. Written responses should be sent to:

Technical consultation on Street Names

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Planning Directorate
3rd Floor, North East
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

When you reply it would be very useful if you confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:
- your name, - your position (if applicable), and - the name of organisation (if applicable)

Street Naming

Background

The Levelling Up White Paper set out the government’s programme to level up the United Kingdom. It sets out a comprehensive, broad, deep and long-term programme of work, and an evidence-based argument of the combination of factors needed to transform places and boost local growth. This includes greater access to culture, stronger pride in place, deeper trust and more resilient institutions.

How streets are named, and how names can be changed forms part of this programme. Local street names form part of the local identity that helps create a sense of pride in place; how they are changed forms part of the process that can build or reduce trust in local systems and institutions. The government is concerned that there are attempts to erase and cancel local heritage and that residents are not being properly consulted.

The government have heard representations that the process for changing names allows insufficient opportunity for residents to express a view and gives disproportionate weight to campaigns and the representations of third parties. Changing names can involve significant practical costs for residents and businesses in changing their address with financial institutions, on official documents (e.g. passports and driving licenses), shops, and utilities. There are also social costs to residents because street names can in effect be assets of community value, cherished by the community for their history and representation of that place. The street names proposals follow recent legal protection for England’s heritage introduced by the government to safeguard historic monuments at risk of removal, including protecting statutes from being removed without proper process. Similarly, this is a measure to ensure there is proper local process and engagement on any change to the heritage and fabric of local areas.

The government wishes to explore whether it would be possible to establish in law the democratic right of communities to be engaged and have their views taken into account. This raises important questions of who should vote – is it just the residents of the street or the wider community – and how. This consultation is designed to help build the evidence for future reforms and in particular, any future legislation and regulations (including any statutory guidance). The government wishes to acknowledge the work of Policy Exchange through their publication Protecting local heritage: How to bring democracy to the renaming of streets (Mar 14, 2021) in bringing this to public attention.

Existing approach to street name changes

The current system relies upon three Acts which date from the early 20th century and create nationally inconsistent and unclear procedures for changing street names. Under the existing legislation, many local authorities have the power to change the name of a given street without engaging residents or businesses on that street.
The current statutory street renaming procedures operating in England are:

1. s.21 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 (‘1907 Act): Contains the requirement to obtain a two-thirds majority of business rates payers and council taxpayers for a street before a proposed name change can proceed. This procedure can be adopted by local authorities outside of Greater London unless they have chosen to disapply this Act and adopt the ‘1925 Act’ ; or

2. s.18 of the Public Health Act 1925 (‘1925 Act’): Street names are not often changed by local authorities because of cost, complexity etc. Where changes do take place, they are generally done by order (which does not require consent of residents or businesses on the street) subject to a right of appeal for those aggrieved to a magistrates’ court. This alternative procedure can be adopted by local authorities outside of Greater London if they disapply the ‘1907 Act’; or

3. In Greater London, local authorities which propose a name change, must consider any objections received and may, having regard to those objections, if they think fit decide to amend the street name – this is dealt with in s.6 of the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939.

Importantly, local authorities outside of Greater London have the ability to choose between the procedures in the 1907 Act and 1925 Act. This means many local authorities have chosen the procedure which does not require votes on street name changes. There is no central register of which councils have adopted which of the three Acts, which has led to a confusing mix of provisions across England, some of which are over a century old with no transparency on which Acts apply where.

The proposed system for street name changes

The government is considering the case for modernising these multiple and dated Acts by replacing them with a single clear requirement for a residents’ vote on any changes to street names based on the principles set out in 1907 legislation. This would remove the ability of local authorities in England to impose street name changes upon communities without their consent and instead require the consent of those on the street before a proposed street name change proceeds. This should ensure that active local support is in place as opposed to a local authority making the change unilaterally.

This would involve:

1. Repealing the three Acts which allow street names to be changed by local authorities without the consent of those affected; and

2. Ensuring that the consenting population ‘electorate’ for changing street names is defined and clearly set out (through regulations); and

3. Ensuring that the rights of local residents are clear (through regulations, which may be supplemented by statutory guidance), on matters such as the process for engaging with the electorate.

The government is considering the case for regulations (and any statutory guidance) to local authorities on changing the name of a street. If, through forthcoming legislation, Ministers are given new powers to define the consenting population for changing street names, and to prescribe related matters on the process for engaging with the electorate, this consultation will help the government to better define how these powers could be implemented through regulations (and any statutory guidance).

This consultation seeks views on both the principles but also the detailed questions of how to define the electorate (i.e. who should have the right to vote on a street name change), the process for engaging with the electorate, and other issues that might be covered in regulations (and any statutory guidance).

Demographics

D1. What is your name?

A) First Name:

B) Surname:

D2. What is your email address?

D3. Are your views expressed on this consultation your own personal views or an official response from an organisation you represent?

A) Personal

B) Organisation

C) Prefer not to say

D4. What is the name of your organisation?

D5. If you are responding as a professional or on behalf of an organisation, please select the option which best describes you or your organisation.

A) Local Authorities (including National Parks, Broads Authority, the Greater London Authority and London boroughs)

B) Government / arms-length body

C) Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)

D) Community group / Parish Council / Neighbourhood Forum

E) Business / trade body

F) Other (please specify):

Defining the electorate

Q1. Do you agree with the principle of a requirement that communities on a street be involved in the decision-making process before the name of a street can be changed? (this would require a change to primary legislation)

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

Please give your comments:

Q2. Do you agree that local authorities should give votes to those who are on the local government electoral roll for the street in question (i.e. as prescribed in section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1983)?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

If you answered no to question 2, how should eligible voters be defined?

Please give your comments:

Q3. Do you agree that local authorities should engage both residential and non-domestic premises (i.e. businesses) before the name of a street can be changed?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

Please give your comments:

If you answered yes to question 3, should a new system allow for votes to be counted from both businesses and residents on a street?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

Please give your comments:

Q4. Do you agree that regulations / statutory guidance should set out how local authorities should seek consent when changing a street name?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

Please give your comments:

Q5. There may be some instances where there are no / very few local taxpayers in the street proposed for a name change. For example, this could occur in public squares where there are no residents or businesses in the square, but there are in the surrounding streets. How should the regulations / statutory guidance deal with the status of electorate views in this situation?

A) An expectation of consultation with street(s) immediately surrounding the public square to obtain consent.

B) Eligibility to vote extended to all in a defined parameter around the affected area (please give any comments on the parameters in the box below).

C) Other (please state)

Please give your comments:

Processes for engaging with the electorate

Q6(a). Our proposals would require local authorities to gain the consent of a local electorate before the name of a street can be changed. Through which channels do you think it would be most effective for local authorities to engage with the local electorate before any vote of consent?

A) Web based consultation / questionnaires

B) Consultations / questionnaires administered in person (i.e. door to door / postal)

C) Local community meetings

D) Focus group / workshops

E) Social media

F) Other (Please state)

G) Unsure

Please give your comments:

Q6(b). How long should be the minimum length of time for engagement with the local electorate?

A) Less than 2 weeks

B) Between 2 to 4 weeks

C) 1 month or longer

D) Unsure

E) Other (please state)

Please give your comments:

Q6(c). Do you agree that the minimum threshold of the local electorate that need to have voted in favour for the local authority to be able to change a street name should remain two-thirds as set out in the 1907 legislation?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

Please give your comments:

Q6(d). How long should be the minimum length of time before consent can be re-sought by local authorities (i.e. where any voting threshold are not met)?

A) 1 year or less

B) Between 2 and 5 years

C) Between 6 and 10 years

D) More than 10 years

E) Unsure

F) Other (please state)

Please give your comments:

Other comments

Q7. Is there anything else that you would like to see included in the regulations / statutory guidance for street names?

A) Yes

B) No

C) Unsure

If yes, please give details and specify what you would like to see included. This could focus on the aims, objectives, remit, powers and restrictions of street naming:

About this consultation

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation. In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by DLUHC of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or ‘criminal offence’ data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.]

4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

We will not share your personal data with organisations outside of DLUHC without contacting you for your permission first.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation, unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances

e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO: dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or

Knowledge and Information Access Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

7. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making.

8. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system.

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for two years before it is deleted.