The Welsh Government is planning to implement a digital register of its common land and town and village greens.
It has signed IT service developer Scisys to create the register with the aim of having it in place by spring 2022.
The move stems from a new provision of the Commons Act 2006 allowing for the creation of digital registers and maps, and will enable the public to search and browse the registers online for the first time. Currently anyone wishing to see the registers has to make an appointment with their local authority.
Scisys said it will develop a bespoke software for spatial and textual register data, deploying OSGeo open source tools compliant with Open Geospatial Consortium standards within a Microsoft .NET framework. It will include a standard data management system and is expected to provide for more efficient processes.
Protecting land
Wales’ Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths said: “The Welsh Government is committed to protecting our common land both now and for future generations. We are leading the way in the UK on the development of electronic registers for common land and town or village greens.”
She added: “The proposed solution will transform user access to the registers allowing them to search and browse the registers online for the first time.”
David Pegg, head of government and emergency services at Scisys, commented: “The Scisys solution fits perfectly with the Welsh Government’s digital-first approach, and importantly its portal will be in both English and Welsh ensuring compliance with the Welsh language standards.”
Image from SciSys
