Council 'sorry' over Pershore road name mix up - The Evesham Observer

Council 'sorry' over Pershore road name mix up

Evesham Editorial 7th Feb, 2016 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

A FRUSTRATED Pershore resident has expressed his frustration at having to change his address details after red-faced council chiefs misspelled a town street name.

Robin Turner, 44, moved onto the brand new Wyre Meadows housing estate, off Station Road, back in November and was told the name of his street would be Westcote Way.

The father of one then set-up his mortgage, insurances and household bills under the address he believed to be right, when in fact the road should have been named Westcott Way in memory of a former teacher at Pershore High School.

He was first made aware of the blunder in January when the Royal Mail notified him and the rest of the residents of the typo made by Wychavon District Council.




Embarrassed officers at the council then quickly sent a letter out a few days later admitting the mistake and that the street name had been corrected.

Mr Turner told the Observer he was ‘annoyed’ by the fact it took months for anyone at the District Council to notice the street name had been spelled wrong.


“When I moved in it was listed as Westcote Way, and had been since May 2015 according to the builders,” Mr Turner said.

“I was then informed it was spelt wrong and should be Westcott Way in a letter from the council, admitting their mistake. Without warning they changed it over night.

“I have been on site since November and now have to change all my addresses again which is a nightmare. Luckily it won’t affect the legal side of things, but all insurances could be classed as void until the address is corrected.

“The thing that annoys me is the fact the council tax and bin collections were all set up months ago under Westcote way, and no one in the council noticed.”

David Hammond, Housing and Planning Services Manager for Wychavon District Council, said:

“Unfortunately seven residents were given the wrong spelling for the name of their street when they moved in. As soon as we picked up on this error we notified the relevant authorities, including Royal Mail, as well as informing those residents affected.

“The post code, which is the essential part of the address, and all other details given were correct, the correct spelling is on the street signs and there has been no loss to the council taxpayer as a result.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this rare oversight.

“The street name remembers a former teacher of Pershore High School so it’s important it is correct in respect to his memory and Pershore Town Council which chose the name,” he added.

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