The dilemma of 1A Maida Avenue proves a nightmare for residents

Pity the poor Little Venice postman. He wakes up before dawn, braves the rain and snow, avoids aggressive dogs and just when he thinks the hard work is done it is time to deliver the post to 1A Maida Avenue.

Mr Postman then has a choice to make – does he deliver it to 1A Maida Avenue, 1A Maida Avenue or 1A (Stafford House) Maida Avenue?

It is a dilemma that has stumped postmen for 10 years with three Little Venice properties within 20 metres of each other sharing the same address.

The situation had been little more than an annoyance with 1A Maida Avenue wrongly mistaken for 1A (Stafford House) Maida Avenue for a number of decades.

But events took a turn for the worse when a house was built on an unnamed mews off the road and given an identical address and postcode to the original 1A Maida Avenue.

A decade on, residents say they are desperate for a resolution.

Pamela Malter-Daries, of the original 1A Maida Avenue, says the problem has worsened recently with the mews property left vacant for a long period.

Residents of the other 1A Maida Avenue properties are then unable to retrieve any post that has been wrongly delivered to the address.

“It’s an absolute nightmare,” said Ms Malter-Daries. “It’s so frustrating because any mail that goes in there doesn’t come out.

“I don’t want my water cut off because I haven’t paid my bill when it has been delivered to a different house.

“I can’t have my bank statements sent here. If I want anything sent to me I have to give the sender detailed instructions with directions of where exactly the post should be delivered.”

But years after starting discussions with Westminster Council it seems a resolution may be on the horizon with the mews given its own name to differentiate it from Maida Avenue.

The council’s operational director for development planning John Walker says officers thought the matter had been resolved in 2006 when the mews house property was vacant and the number removed. But the property changed hands in May which has led the council to revisit the issue.

“We have begun the necessary steps to change the address of the cul de sac off Maida Avenue where the newly completed house is located,” he said.

“There are a number of legal procedures that we have to follow to do this, but once complete the matter should be resolved.”