Redbridge Consider charging residents to name their homes

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The council is considering charging residents to give their homes a name as it seeks to recoup thousands of pounds of costs

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GIVING your home a name could soon cost you £50, under new plans being considered by the council.

Naming a house would cost residents £50, while naming an entire building would cost £100, which Redbridge Council predicts could generate £36,000 a year towards the cost of researching and registering name changes.

This includes £4,000 paid to the Royal Mail and a whopping £42,000 spent on researching proposed names to ensure they are they have “no negative connotations, cultural insensitivities [or] conflicts.”

Stephen Grave, 66, of Knighton Lane in Woodford Green said he wouldn't pay a charge to register the name of his house.

He said: “I wouldn't pay it, I think it's far too much money. I think people would have to be nuts to pay that kind of money, to be quite honest.

“We have a nameplate on the front of our house but we don't include it in the address. I certainly wouldn't pay to have it registered.”

“The reason the house is called Kimbyron is because our daughter is Kimberley and because we spent time in Byron Bay in Australia. It's special to us, but I wouldn't pay to make it official.

But some people said the council was justified in charging for naming a house.

Gary Clarke, 51, of Monkhams Lane, said: “I think it's fair enough. We use the name in our address, and although it was there already when we loved in, we've not thought about changing it.

“There's costs involved and the Royal Mail have to have it registered properly, so I think it's alright.”

Across London, many boroughs already charged for this service with some charging less, like Greenwich (£26) and Croydon (£27), while some charging more, such as Barnet (£60) and Southwark (£67).

John Howes, 66, of Monkhams Lane, also feels that most people with house names not included in their address wouldn't bother to pay the fee.

He said: “Our name plate is just up for our own amusement really. Our house is called Rustles because I'm known as Rusty as my wife's name is Lesley, so we put them together.”

The proposal will be discussed at the council's cabinet meeting on Monday 11 at 7.15pm.