Druids Way Out Of Line?

Two local councils in Northamptonshire, residents, an MP and a Government minister have become involved in a row of the name of a new road in the village of Moulton.

A new road in the Daventry district of Moulton has been named Druids Way; but it seems planners hadn't seen the path to an argument it would lead to.

Just over the district council's border into Northampton Borough, is also a Druids Way - but this one has been around for many decades.

Local MP, Michael Ellis, the Northampton North MP said he'd been contacted by residents - of both roads - to say mail has been misdirected, there's confusion over deliveries, a mid-wife has gone to the wrong address, and even a bed.

Mr Ellis told Heart Daventry District council have an opportunity to change the name to avoid any further confusion as it's still a relatively new road "They could call it Druids Street or Druids Walk if they wanted to. Daventry District Council are being quite obstructive.

I would have thought Northampton Borough would also be applying pressure on Daventry to help save confusion for the Northampton residents of Druids Way.

You just want to bang some heads together to get it sorted. It's the sort of nonsense from councils that drives people mad.

I've invited Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to come and see the confusion himself today."

In a statement to Heart, Tony Gillett, Resources Manager at Daventry District Council, said:

"When naming streets on new developments in the District we first ask parish councils to submit names they would like. A check is then run to ensure there is no duplication in the village before it is forwarded to the developer for approval. Once approved a public notice is then erected at the entrance to the site which stands for one month. If there are no objections we apply to the Royal Mail for a postcode.

In the case of Druids Way in Moulton, there was no match for the name within Moulton and no objections were received from the public. It is common for street names to be repeated. For instance you might find several High Streets or Church Streets in an area. The fact there are now two Druids Ways in the NN3 area should pose no problem for any statutory bodies including the Royal Mail or emergency services, who have all been provided with the full addresses and maps showing the exact location of the new street.

Unfortunately problems with misdirected post from third-party delivery companies do sometimes occur when new developments are built and, while we sympathise with any residents affected, we do expect this to stop once the new addresses are added to the mailing lists which the delivery companies buy."