Data from the Scottish Street Gazetteer has been integrated into the Ordnance Survey (OS) MasterMap Highways Network and Open USRN (unique street reference numbers).
The move brings all the street data associated to a USRN in Great Britain into a single dataset for the first time by completing the removal of differences in how road network data is organised in the different countries.
It has been implemented in a collaboration between the national mapping agency, Geospatial Commission, Scottish Government and Scotland’s Improvement Service, enabled by the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA).
It makes it possible for members of the PSGA and licensed partners of OS to access and use the integrated data of the OS MasterMap Highways Network.
In addition, the OS Open USRN product will now also include the USRNs from the Scottish Street Gazetteer with associated generalised geometry.
The data loading and verification process is managed by the Improvement Service and Ordnance Survey and is launched in partnership with the UK’s Geospatial Commission.
OS said the expanded dataset will be free to all through the OS Data Hub. It added that the move is likely to be of particular benefit to public sector organisations working cross-border between England and Scotland.
It highlighted the potential for using the dataset in planning asset management, community transport and emergency services, with users being able to identify the authority responsible for a road and find valuable information to support planning schemes.
Comprehensive view
Its director of national mapping services, John Kimmance, said: “This development means that OS can now offer the most comprehensive view of Britain’s road network yet, and will enable a wide range of services to be delivered more efficiently and consistently across the whole region.
“Delivered through the Geospatial Commission’s Public Sector Geospatial Agreement this is illustrative of OS’s strong commitment to providing continued access to world leading location data.”
The Scottish Government’s chief data officer, Albert King, said: “Integrating Scottish data from the Scottish Street Gazetteer into OS MasterMap Highways Network and OS Open USRN will create a single authoritative view of the road network.
“This data already underpins many of our public services and we welcome the opportunity to make it available more widely to help create value in our services and economy.”
The Improvement Service said the information can be used for routing and network analysis, potentially delivering savings through route optimisation and management of assets.
Image from iStock, Jennifer Sophie
