RAPID by name and by nature

RIGHT ADDRESS: Bruce Mills' rural property has the RAPID number plate in the right location-at the vehicle crossing (entrance to the property) instead of on the letter box.

Improving public safety is one of the goals of a new Far North District Council policy aimed at ensuring properties have a clear, unique address that emergency services can locate quickly.

The council adopted a new road naming and property numbering policy earlier this month, to comply with a request from the Deputy-Surveyor of Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to fix historic addressing issues and to allocate road names and property numbers according to LINZ standards.

Council records manager Caroline Wilson said the borough and county councils that existed in the Far North before local government amalgamation in 1989 had different policies for naming streets and numbering properties. To compound problems, not all properties in the district where assigned a RAPID number when the Rural Address Property IDentification Project was rolled out in 2001.

Rapid growth in the district in the mid-2000s had also resulted in naming and numbering gaps.

"We estimate that thousands of addresses across the district need fixing," Mrs Wilson said.

"This is an untenable situation. We need to respond to concerns from emergency services that have been unable to respond to some callouts quickly because they could not identify properties."

Fixing addressing issues would also make it easier for utility companies (electricity, phone and internet), tradespeople, posties and couriers to locate properties.

"This review is long overdue," Mrs Wilson added. "The end result will be a district that is a safer place to live and an easier place to do business."

Council staff would work with community boards over the next three years to address road naming and numbering issues.

"We understand that many people are attached to their road names and addresses, and changing may be difficult, but we will work with communities, iwi and hapu to achieve outcomes that balance both the wishes of individuals and our legislative requirements."