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SpatialNews Press Release
Joined-up geography helps join up government
Think maps and you probably also think of Ordnance
Survey. For over 200 years Britain's national mapping
agency has been synonymous with mapping expertise,
creating internationally renowned paper maps and now
computer data products as well.
But it might also surprise you to know that its data underpins a
vast range of government activities and initiatives. From the 2001
census to improving response times to emergencies, and from
controlling the flow of urban traffic to locating suitable derelict
land for housebuilding.
Other areas of national life benefiting from Ordnance Survey
digital mapping include the emergency services, where it is helping
police detect crime patterns and catch offenders as well as
speeding up ambulance response times to emergency calls. In the
private sector it is helping companies target their marketing,
calculate insurance risks and manage property portfolios. In fact,
Ordnance Survey data is so vital to both the private and public
sectors that a recent independent study calculated that around
£100 billion of Britain's economic activity is now dependent upon
it.
"People instantly recognise our distinctive paper maps, but there's
a lot more to our mapping than meets the eye," said Ordnance
Survey's Director General, Vanessa Lawrence. "Our data can be
stored in computerised geographical information systems (GIS)
alongside a wide range of other information such as crime
statistics, census details and land use registers. Together these
layers of information provide customised mapping and data
analysis which organisations can use for specific purposes."
She added: "Linking our mapping to data held by other public
sector organisations is just one of the ways we are bringing our
information to more people than ever before, increasing the
number of ways it can be used and maximising its benefit for
others. We call it joined-up geography and it's our contribution to
the national drive to modernise government."
Indeed, Ordnance Survey is recognised as a pacesetter in the
drive for joined-up government. It is committed to helping to
create a better, more effective public service, making it easier for
public sector bodies to work together. Thanks to a national
agreement with Ordnance Survey, eleven Government
departments, agencies and public bodies already have regular
access to consistent computer mapping and geographical
information that can be related to their own data. And the mapping
agency is keen to extend this partnership to include many more
departments and agencies.
Sharing expertise
Among the organisations already working with Ordnance Survey
on specific projects are the Department of the Environment,
Transport and the Regions, local government's Improvement and
Development Agency (IDeA) and regeneration agency, English
Partnerships. Together they are helping to create a
comprehensive, up-to-date record of land use in England. The
development of this National Land Use Database (NLUD®) will
help balance the need for new housing with a desire to protect the
environment by encouraging urban regeneration. NLUD is the
first ever record of its kind, providing free web access at
www.nlud.org.uk to the location, planning status and former use of
previously developed and often derelict land in England. By
identifying recyclable sites, the database will enable planners to
encourage housebuilding on previously developed land rather than
on greenfield sites.
When every second counts
Every second counts for ambulance crews answering emergency
calls, and finding the emergency scene as quickly as possible can,
quite literally, become a matter of life or death. Staffordshire
Ambulance NHS Trust uses Ordnance Survey mapping within a
GIS to quickly find the precise locations of emergencies, establish
its nearest resource and provide routing instructions to the
responding crew. This combination of improving technology and
mapping systems helps the Trust, which was the first to meet the
Government response time standards, to remain at the cutting
edge in terms of target times.
Staying a step ahead of crime
Computerised mapping is also helping Hampshire Police to stay
one step ahead of the county's criminals by predicting where and
when crime is likely to take place. Its desktop computer-based
GIS uses Ordnance Survey digital information to help locate, track
and analyse incidents, enabling faster response times and better
use of manpower. By analysing and integrating crime patterns
with computer mapping, Hampshire Police believe that they can
significantly reduce the county's crime rate by targeting repeat
offenders.
Keeping on the move
Also in Hampshire, Ordnance Survey's computerised road
mapping is playing a pivotal role in keeping traffic on the move. By
providing a common and consistent base for exchanging
road-related information, the ROMANSE (ROad MANagement
System for Europe) uses a digital mapping system in tandem with
automatic vehicle location systems, and route tracking data to help
monitor and control traffic flows minute by minute.
Up-to-the-minute public information about local traffic allows
travellers to plan not only their journey but also to change routes
and avoid delays caused by roadwork, accidents or even the rush
hour. This has additional benefits for other road users as traffic is
spread more evenly across the region's roads.
Easing the exchange of information
Vanessa Lawrence added: "Ordnance Survey's creation of the
Digital National Framework over the next two years will also
make working with us even easier, as we are developing a new
system to store, maintain and make available our information. A
huge, seamless database will store features such as buildings and
fields as complete objects and give each a unique identification
number. "Using this identifier, other organisations will be able to
link their own information with ours much more easily. This will be
particularly useful for a wide range of Government departments,
agencies and public bodies that needs to monitor activity and
analyse trends, for example, in tracing fraud or establishing
travelling patterns. GIS enables these organisations to create a
database that tracks and records particular activities in specific
locations."
Ordnance Survey's information is of enormous value to the nation
and its aim is to ensure people gain as much benefit from it as
possible by encouraging them to make maximum use of it. Why
not discover more about how Ordnance Survey digital mapping
can help you by calling 08456 05 05 05 or visit our web site at
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
Ordnance Survey, the OS Symbol and NLUD are registered
trademarks of Ordnance Survey.
Senior Press Officer - Philip Round
E-mail: pround@ordsvy.gov.uk
Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2635
Press Officer - Paula Good
E-mail: pgood@ordsvy.gov.uk
Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2568
Press Office Assistant - Anne Patrick
E-mail: apatrick@ordsvy.gov.uk
Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2251
Press Office fax: (+44) 023 8079 2031
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