RAPID stands for Rural Address Property IDentification. It gives every rural property with a dwelling an address.
Sometimes it is hard to explain exactly where you live on long rural roads. RAPID is particularly useful for emergency services such as police, fire, ambulance and civil defence. It is helpful for service providers such as NZ Post, Telecom, couriers and power authorities.
Most of the rural areas in NZ are now RAPID numbered and the system has been successful in enabling fast location of rural properties.
RAPID numbers are allocated starting at the end of the road closest to Gisborne city. Your RAPID number will be based on the distance your property is along the road.
The numbers are allocated to properties by measuring in metres, the distance from the start of the road to the centre of the dwelling's driveway.
The final measurement is divided by 10, and then rounded to a whole number. Numbers on the right of the road are even; those on the left are odd. For example a property located 825 meters from the start of the road would be numbered 82 if on the right side of the road or 83 if on the left side of the road. If there is more than one dwelling off a driveway then a letter e.g. A, B, or C is added.
The first house along will be A, the second B, etc. The owner can request an additional plate to put on the house itself where a shared driveway divides into several different residences. The primary plate must remain at the gate.
State Highways
State Highways in the Gisborne district have been broken into sections and given proper names e.g. Wharerata Rd, Matawai Rd etc. These have then been numbered in the same way as other RAPID addresses.
NZ Post has confirmed that the RAPID number can be added in to the usual RD address. For example, Joe Bloggs, 963 Wharekopae Road, RD3, Gisborne (no need for any prefix like "Rapid").
Normal addresses have not really changed, they've only been "enhanced". All normal mail will continue to reach you. If you would like to have your address amended this may be done in the usual way.
Please complete the Change of Address Authority form and send to us using our contact details.
It is not possible to change the number on request, as it reflects the distance along the road and every 1 represents 10 metres.
We cannot change the number without compromising the integrity of the numbering system. This system is a service that Council is providing, it is not compulsory.
Your RAPID plate will be attached in a prominent position close to your vehicle entrance, which could be on a letterbox, gatepost or wooden fence. Plates will be fixed parallel to the road. They are blue plates with reflective white numbers for ease of visibility, especially at night.
The information on the RAPID numbering has been recorded and uploaded into Council's GIS (Geographic Information System) and main corporate computer system. It is also used to set up property files in Council's records system so that all correspondence/issues relating to that address can be stored in one place.
It has also been loaded into Landonline, Land Information New Zealands' national property database. Emergency services will then have access to this information to quickly and accurately locate a residential property in a rural area.
You can get a RAPID number allocated when applying for a building consent. The consent application form has a box to tick if a RAPID number is required.
If picking up the consent application from Council, the Customer Service officer should ask if you require a RAPID number and if so, should also give you a Street Address Application Form.
If you need another application form, please download and complete the form below.
The focus of the RAPID numbering project has been to get all existing residences in the Gisborne district numbered for ease and speed of location in civil defence and emergency service situations.
For a small fee you can order a plate and erect it yourself, keeping the cost to a minimum. Please download and complete the application form below.
Once completed, you can post it (with cheque) to Council or present it with payment at our Customer Service Centre in Fitzherbert St.
