The document discusses the importance of location data and addresses for businesses. It notes that while location is important, it needs context to define place. Addresses are a key identifier of place but addressing in the UK is currently dysfunctional and inconsistent between different databases, causing problems. There is a proposal for a single national address register that is maintained and freely available to reduce these issues.

1. Bringing together location, place and property

2. How important is location to your business?

3. So let’s begin with trying to define location

4. Define location? Celestial Navigation

5. Business purpose?

6. Business purpose?

7. So where are we and how do we measure it? Latitude = 51.5092, Longitude = -0.1212 Lat = 51 degrees, 30.6 minutes North Long = 0 degrees, 7.3 minutes West

8. British National grid 530448, 180615 Define location

9. Business purpose?

10. Business purpose?

11. But for me this is data about location Or using data about locations and technology to realise it We need to bring some context into location and turn it into place

12. Google / Yahoo / Bing, rise of the Neo geographer

13. Smart phone revolution and location

14. Location based services

15. So what have we covered so far? Location is more than just lat / long or a coordinate There are many different identifiers for place It has to matter or mean something to the individual or consumer It has to have context or relevance For me this is the definition of place Or the difference between location and where I actually am or want to be

16. So evidently location is important! Or at least sharing information about location is important But actually where are we?

17. Copyright GetMapping 2010

18. Grand Hall Olympia London Hammersmith Road London W14 8UX

19. More than any other identifier place is defined by the address of the property The address can often help to additionally identify the ‘purpose’ of the property And the services that can be acquired at this location The most recognisable identifier of place

20. So are addresses really important? Vital component of official documents. Potential legal penalties for wrong or missing information. Critical for locating accidents and emergencies. Essential for fraud prevention, supporting public health and social services etc.; Key business tool for marketing; essential for supplying goods and services and invoicing, locating delivery points and navigating from door to door; Strong emphasis on role of addresses in securing efficiencies. More accurate and complete addresses mean fewer staff doing more assignments faster; A sense of surprise that the questions were necessary. “ no address, no business”, “ GIS has no value without addresses” “ without addresses our business would be impossible”. Source: EURADIN Research 30 th April 2009

21. Does poor addressing cause you problems? Private sector focused on the increased direct and indirect cost of inaccurate addressing. Customer dissatisfaction; duplicated effort; loss of revenue (eg wrongly addressed invoices). The public sector concern focused on: “ service failure”: “ missing addresses equals missing people”; “ We cannot start certain procedures without an official address”; risk to human life from emergency services “mobilization failure”. Source: EURADIN Research 30 th April 2009

22. Is inadequate addressing costing your business or organisation money? Half of those who agreed (34% in total) felt deficiencies in addressing were costing more than 1% of their total organisational turnover (equivalent nationally of £5 billion!) Source: EURADIN Research 30 th April 2009

23. What is the current state of play? Local Government uses the National Land & Property Gazetteer (NLPG) The private sector mainly uses the Postcode Address File (PAF) Central Government mainly uses Ordnance Survey addressing products (AP, AL, AL2) The standards and referencing used are all different The level of currency and completeness is also different …….. Add addresses Receiving post to PAF Proprietary addressing products Local Government Street Naming & Numbering Officers / LLPG Custodians

24. Some public sector views…….. 3rd September 2009 IA Presentation to Susiephone 3 rd September 2009 Power of Information Taskforce “ The government should create a freely available single definitive address and postcode database available for the UK. Once created it should be made freely available for (re)use and maintained by OS, Royal Mail and Local Government.” UK Statistics Authority “ Without and address register we will never have a continuously up-to-date knowledge of the size and distribution of the population……Government departments may be able to manage somehow without an address register. But there is no doubt that they would find it cheaper, quicker and easier to deliver their business with an address register.” (letter to Ministers 8 th July 2009) Ministerial Advisory Panel for Public Sector Information “ The situation as regards addressing must be resolved. The commercial interests of different organisations, all directly or indirectly answerable to government, have prevented their being a single national address register. This has caused confusion, lost opportunity and unnecessary cost over the last decade. …. It is a national scandal that we do not have a definitive single National Address Register when most components have long resided in the public sector…” LGA “ supports a single National Address Register as a public good service. … freely available for use.” Public Administration Select Committee “… this seems to us to be a scandalous waste of public money (the ONS addressing work) caused by the way in which different public sector organisations have been set up to see each other as competitors, rather than to co-operate for the common good. ….. It is certain that such a [address] register will cost money. It is equally certain that not having such an address register is already costing money and will continue to do so in future years.” (Letter to Minister of State fro Housing 14 th July 2009) SOCITM “ We agree with the principle of a single address register” Local Gov Unit Wales “ The principle of a national address register is a no brainer”

25. Some private sector views…… 3rd September 2009 IA Presentation to Susiephone 3 rd September 2009 Association for Geographic Information “ Addresses underpin many essential services, in the public sector, the commercial sector and for the citizen. They are considered as a core reference geography in the UK Location Strategy, and are a Priority I theme in the EU INSPIRE Directive. The current position of three competing address databases is ineffective and wastes money that is provided from the public purse, and incurs additional expense amongst some major users. The case for a single definitive address register is particularly compelling .. When emergency planning or the national census is taken into account.” RICS “ The RICS strongly supports the proposals for a single National Address Register.” The Locus Association “ Locus strongly supports the proposal for the creation of not only a single National Address Register, but also a single definitive National Postcode Register…” Demographic User Group “ There has been user demand for a definitive National Address Register for at least 10 years. The economic benefits of better addressing and data matching are potentially very significant in commercial companies alone, and even more so in government…… information should be made available for a National Address Register free at the point of use.”

26. “ The official name and numbering register is the formal register that each local authority with street naming and numbering responsibility in England and Wales is required to maintain. It contains entries for all designated street names and premise numbers allocated by the authority” Street naming and numbering From the British Standard for addressing BS7666

27. What’s an address? It’s not where mail is delivered… It’s a geographic description of a place Or a contextual description of a location? The British Standard for addressing BS7666 defines “ an addressable object as a real-world object that has a fixed location and may be identified and referenced by means of one or more addresses”

29. Utility / telecoms supplier Local authority Emergency service Finance / Insurance Government Department / Agency So who do we have here today?

30. Who do you deliver service to?

31. Common problems with addressing

32. Problems within one local authority Which address would you like…..? Council Tax: 5 Saint Marys Court Manchester Road Tyldesley Wigan M29 8DP Education: 5 St Marys Court Manchester Road Astley, Tyldesley Wigan M29 8DP Social Services: 5 St Mary’s Ct. Astley Wigan M29 8DP Planning: Plot 5 St Mary’s Ct. Manchester Rd Tyldesley Astley Wigan M29 8DP Elections: 5 St. Mary’s Court Manchester Road Astley Wigan M29 8DP

33. Another quick summary Location is important However it needs to be in context The most common definition of place is the address However addressing in the UK is dysfunctional Riddled with problems because of people taking shortcuts Generally we have the same requirements with the same problems But can this be solved?

34. What does the national gazetteer look like? NLPG Data User LLPG LSG Street Naming & Numbering Function (SN&N) NSG Data User USRN, Street Name, Settlement Name & Street Coords Street Name (potentially USRN, Settlement Name and Street Coords) Validation between Hubs New SN&N records Regular Change Only Update Creating Authority Gazetteer Licensees / statutory users Council Application Data Regular Update The NLPG – a process of continual improvement Council Application Data Outward customer facing services

35. How many addresses (BLPUs) exit in the NLPG 32 million 294,180 What is the current volume of the NLPG? Approx 8Gb in DTF7.3 (csv) Approx 175mb How many updates per month on average? 4,000 update files received –about 1.7m records 3 updates files a week - 30k records per month How many of these updates are deletes? Approx 3,000-5,000 How many are updates to current records? Approx 1.2m How many are new properties? Approx 500,000 (some will relate to land, OWPAs and plots etc) 2006 (BLPU Inserts) over the last year How many changes are made to the NLPG? National County Durham

36. Changes in the NLPG – monthly update?

38. Improve the process? Well hopefully!

39. The Cloud Fire Service Police Local Authorities Government Departments Private Sector Web Services Hub development and service integration Services compliant with; OGC and W3C standards Bespoke API development Hosted and managed solutions National Gazetteer Hub Local or Regional Database

40. And conclusions What is the nature of your business? Properties require utility hook-up Homes may require emergency service response Locations require service delivery Property requires insurance cover People need goods and services delivered All of the above are property centric applications That require accurate addresses to create efficiency savings or at least avoid unnecessary overheads

41. Nick Turner Business Development Manager Intelligent Addressing Ltd [email_address] @nicolasturner 0207 747 3500