GIS Files 6: Expert GIS concepts

6.2: Standards (4)

Gazetteers in England and Wales

Recent developments in the UK mean that a definitive national gazetteer of certain key geographical features is closer to becoming a reality. Reliable and consistent gazetteers are vital for different parties to be able to refer to and locate a feature easily and without ambiguity.

The first step towards this goal was the New Roads & Street Works Act (1991), which required utilities and contractors to notify local authorities of road works. It also specified that local authorities should jointly maintain a National Street Works Register.

More significantly, in 1993 the first draft of the British Standard BS7666, Spatial data-sets for geographical referencing, was published.

BS7666 currently contains four parts:

1) Specification for a Street Gazetteer – an up-to-date list of all streets in an administrative area. Every entry is allocated a Unique Street Reference Number or USRN.

2) Specification for a land and property gazetteer (LPG) – an up-to-date list of all land and property units in an administrative area. Each record is called a Basic Land and Property Unit (BLPU) and holds data relating to its provenance. A BLPU also holds a grid reference locating its central point and a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN).

3) Specification for addresses

4) Specification of a data-set for recording public rights of way.

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