At the request of the parish council or, where there is no parish council, at the request of the parish meeting, the council of the district in which the parish is situated may change the name of the parish.
Notice of any change of name made under this section—
shall be sent by the district council concerned to the Secretary of State, to the Director General of the Ordnance Survey and to the Registrar General; and
shall be published by the district council in the parish and elsewhere in such manner as they consider appropriate.
A change of name made in pursuance of this section shall not affect any rights or obligations of any parish or of any council, authority or person, or render defective any legal proceedings; and any legal proceedings may be commenced or continued as if there had been no change of name.