April/May 2008

Tracking and other map-based applications could be even more accurate in future, thanks to the commercial release this April of the National Land and Property Gazetteer, or NLPG.

NLPG is a gazetteer of all property in England and Wales, and is complemented by a similar one for Scotland. The developers (ultimately the UK Government) say it is more precise than postcodes or other systems for finding locations, and also that it is fixed for the life of each property.

The data is updated regularly (at least once a month) by local authorities, and when you obtain it you should be getting a live version of the current data file.

The project was initiated in 1999 to create a 'hub' for the 376 address-creating local authorities and their local land and property gazetteers (LLPGs). The idea was to provide a single definitive address database for all departments and systems within any given local authority in order to cut costs and improve efficiency and service delivery.

At the heart of the data is a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) - an eleven- or twelve-digital code applied to every property, whether it is a mailing address or not. These codes are given national map grid references, providing a consistent way of locating any given property, whatever its use. The data is supplied in the form of CSV or XML files.

Until now the data has been available only to public-sector users. The commercial launch, accompanied we understand by a royalty payment structure for use of the data, gives it much more wide-ranging appeal, and should help recoup some of the costs of maintaining it.

The resource was created and is maintained by Intelligent Addressing, a specialist private sector consultancy.