Postcode war as Hounslow residents fight for Richmond address

A postcode war has been waged by residents fighting for a Richmond address instead of a Hounslow one.

People living in Whitton, a town in the leafy and affluent borough of Richmond-Upon-Thames, are angry that their TW3 postcode classes them in the neighbouring, more deprived borough of Hounslow.

They say that this affects everything from house prices to insurance premiums and have petitioned the Royal Mail to change it.

Kim Tasso, 53, said: “My daughter goes to a Richmond school, we pay council tax to Richmond council, the police consider us a Richmond address, yet when I put ‘Whitton’ as my address my post arrives two days late, with ‘Whitton’ crossed out by the Post Office and ‘Hounslow’ written in its place.

“I know there are people who think I’m being snobbish but frankly whether I had to put Chiswick or Westminster or anything else other than a Richmond postcode as my address I would be just as irritated.

“Either we should be called Hounslow and pay our rates to Hounslow borough council, or keep paying the higher Richmond rates and be able to call ourselves Richmond.”

The We Want to be Whitton campaign, backed by members of Richmond council, was launched this week to get the 34 ‘Hounslow’ Whitton streets a Richmond postcode, but Ms Tasso said she has been petitioning the Royal Mail every five years since 1994 with no effect.

Whitton resident Jim Lindsay, 34, said: “The postcode change is nothing to do with snobbery, it’s a practicality thing.

“It sounds silly but I even went to a council-owned skip and was refused access because my driving license has a Hounslow postcode and not a Richmond one.

“Our road is the first one that falls into the Hounslow postcode and the houses in the streets next to ours have vastly different prices.

“I don’t know anyone who would turn down the offer of a Richmond postcode instead of a Hounslow one, if it would suddenly increase the cost of their home by £20,000 or more. Snob or no snob, no one would say no to that.”

According to the property valuation website Zoopla, the average house in Hounslow is worth £294,020, while the average house in Whitton is £423,982. In Richmond-based Twickenham the average property is £567,071.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail said: “The postcode is a Royal Mail operational tool designed to ensure the accurate sorting, routing and delivery of our customers’ mail.

“Postcode boundaries do not necessarily reflect geographical or administrative boundaries.

“Royal Mail does not normally change postcodes unless there is a pressing operational reason to do so, though under the Code of Practice for postal addressing, there is a process for customers to request a change.”

Cllr Gareth Elliott, from Richmond Upon Thames borough council, said:

“The incorrect designation by Royal Mail has several knock-on effects that people living in these areas experience every day. Services other residents take for granted can often be confused across boundaries.

"I have been contacted by one resident who was told her child could not attend a Richmond Borough School because she was wrongly considered a Hounslow Resident due to her postcode. For those that live in Whitton and pay Council Tax to Richmond Council it should not be too difficult for Royal Mail to bring them into line with their fellow residents."