By Rebecca Curley

local democracy reporter

Developers are going to be charged for street signs under a new policy around naming roads.

Guildford Borough Council will be introducing the charges which is expected to raise around £30,000 a year.

This forms part of a new policy drawn up by the council which also includes a redesign of nameplate signs involving the borough crest.

Any new or replaced sign will now be printed in the design.

The council has not had a policy around street naming and numbering before, but the ICT services who run the scheme repair or make around 20-30 new nameplates a month.

Cllr Matt Furniss, council deputy leader, presented the new policy and street sign design to councillors at the executive meeting on Tuesday (January 22).

He said: “While they are an everyday item we all look at, our street naming and signs themselves provide a strong brand image for the borough.

“We haven’t had consistency over the decades.

“Considering the amount of housing coming forward in the Local Plan it’s important we start charging commercial developers recovering the cost for providing this service.”

More than 100 people took part in a public consultation around the design and were able to nominate their street for a new design sign. Three will now be chosen from random to have their road sign replaced.

Street naming and numbering policy – did you know?

• A person who creates a new street has the right to propose a name for that street
• The use of a name, which relates to that of a living person is not permitted, except in exceptional circumstances
• Street names should not be difficult to pronounce or awkward to spell
• The use of a name, which relates to a person deceased within the last one hundred years, is only permitted with permission of the next of kin
• New streets shall be numbered with odd numbers on the left-hand side and even numbers on the right, commencing from the primary entrance to the street
• A cul-de-sac will be numbered consecutively starting at number 1 on the left at the entrance and numbering properties in a clockwise direction
• Numbers which have superstitious connotations such as 13 will not be omitted when numbering a new street or block of flats
• Buildings, including those on corner sites, are usually numbered according to the street in which the main entrance is found
• Where a property has a number, it is not possible to replace the number with a name
• The renaming of a street involves a legal process that gives any aggrieved person the right to appeal to a Magistrates’ Court
• The initial installation and costs of street nameplates for all new developments will be the responsibility of the developer