GeoPlace Enables Local Authorities to Meet INSPIRE Transport Data Requirements

London - 02 April 2012 - GeoPlace has developed an INSPIRE compliant view service to publish data from the National Street Gazetteer (NSG) as part of the INSPIRE Transport theme. Through this publishing service local authorities will meet the INSPIRE publishing requirements for the transport theme.

Having previously worked on the European Address and the Buildings Thematic Working Groups that originally defined the themes, GeoPlace has now been leading on INSPIRE regulations for the Address and Transport themes within the UK Location Programme. The NSG has been registered as an INSPIRE dataset on data.gov.uk alongside the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and AddressBase.

The NLPG and NSG are national compilations from individual local authority address and street datasets and are managed by GeoPlace. AddressBase combines the NLPG with a range of spatial address and property information from the Ordnance Survey, Royal Mail and Valuation Office Agency and is distributed by Ordnance Survey.

GeoPlace has responsibility to provide the NSG as a ‘reference dataset’ as defined in the INSPIRE regulations, on behalf of all 174 local highway authorities responsible for street data in England and Wales. The provision of reference datasets removes the need for individual local authorities to publish this data as the information is held centrally by GeoPlace. Rather than 174 datasets published individually, it is more efficient and cost effective for a single body to publish the data. This provides the sector with substantial savings.

GeoPlace has developed an INSPIRE compliant web mapping service (WMS) to view NSG data as part of the INSPIRE Transport theme. This allows a user to make a request to view data via a web mapping service or GIS application. An image of the street network is served up allowing an overlay within the user’s own data. Access to the service is via a secure login for registered NSG users only.

Whilst GeoPlace compiles the address data from local authorities in England and Wales, Ordnance Survey has the sole distribution rights to the NLPG and AddressBase products. This means that Ordnance Survey is responsible for publishing these address reference datasets.

Further developments are planned by GeoPlace to help meet the next stages of the INSPIRE initiatives due in mid-2012.

National Address Gazetteer Database

The National Address Gazetteer database is managed by GeoPlace. It brings together data from local authorities’ Local Land and Property Gazetteers (LLPGs) Ordnance Survey, Valuation Office Agency and Royal Mail. AddressBase products are produced from the National Address Gazetteer Database and made available by Ordnance Survey. To find out how the National Address Gazetteer Database can make substantial savings for your organisation, please visit www.geoplace.co.uk

GeoPlace

GeoPlace is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey. GeoPlace’s role is to create and maintain the National Address Gazetteer Database and the National Street Gazetteer for England and Wales, the definitive sources of publicly-owned spatial address and street data. Through agreement with Scotland’s Improvement Service Company, the plan is to extend coverage to Scotland.

Local Government Association

The Local Government Association is here to support, promote and improve local government. The LGA is an organisation that is run by its members and covers every part of England and Wales and includes county and district councils, metropolitan and unitary councils, London boroughs, Welsh unitary councils, fire, police, national park and passenger transport authorities.

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey is Great Britain’s national mapping agency, providing the most accurate and up-to-date geographic data, relied on by government, business and individuals. Ordnance Survey utilises the National Address Gazetteer Database to create the AddressBase range of products which are available for use in both the public and commercial sectors.